Request
Your request was about the following information:
Q1. All prepared briefing material for Food Standards Scotland’s appearance before the Scottish Parliament’s Health & Social Care committee on the 7th May 2024.
Q2. All communication with the Scottish Government on Food Standards Scotland’s appearance before the Scottish Parliament’s Health & Social Care committee on the 7 th May 2024.
Q3. A list of the people, by job title, who were given access to the text of opening speech from Food Standards Scotland’s appearance before the Scottish Parliament’s Health & Social Care committee on the 7th May 2024.
Q4. How long and since when it has been Food Standards Scotland’s policy to encourage reduced meat consumption for environmental reasons, and the mechanism (i.e. board meeting decision, instruction from Scottish Government etc.) and rationale behind the decision to chance stance
Q5. How long and since when it has been Food Standards Scotland’s policy to encourage any dietary choices for environmental reasons, and the mechanism (i.e.board meeting decision, instruction from Scottish Government etc.) and rationale behind the decision to chance to this stance
Q6. List of Food Standards Scotland employees by job title and number in that role (e.g. publicity officer 2, researcher 8, HR manager 1 etc.),
Response
A1. Please find attached the document ‘Health and Sport Committee - FSS high level briefing note - Tuesday 7 May 2024’ with the information you requested. Section 30(b) (ii) (Prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) FOISA applies to the content.
A2. Please find attached 2 emails with the information you requested. Section 38(1)(b) (Personal information) FOISA applies to the content. We would like to mention that in the attached ‘Email 2’ document, although it mentions in the email sent on the Thursday 2nd of May 2024 at 4:55 PM that the final briefing will be shared when finalised, this did not happen. The text was provided to the Clerks to the Committee after the meeting
A3. Please find in the attached 'List of People by Job Title' table the information you requested. Section 38(1)(b) (Personal information) FOISA applies to the content.
A4. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) recommends that individuals who consume more than 70g red and red processed meat each day should consider reducing their intakes to no more than 70g/day. This is on the basis of recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN Iron and Health report (2011): SACN Iron and Health Report - gov.uk), published in 2011 which considered the risk of colo-rectal cancer from higher red and red processed meat intakes. These recommendations form part of the Eatwell Guide (Eatwell Guide: The Eatwell Guide | Food Standards Scotland), which demonstrates to consumers what a healthy balanced diet looks like. The Eatwell Guide is agreed between the four nations of the UK. These recommendations on red and red processed meat are also reflected in the Scottish Dietary Goals (Scottish Dietary Goals: Dietary Goals for Scotland (foodstandards.gov.scot) , which were last updated in 2016.
Public Health England (now Department for Health and Social Care) commissioned the Carbon Trust to conduct a post hoc sustainability assessment of the Eatwell Guide. Whilst the outcome of this assessment did not inform decisions around the final model, it indicated that the Eatwell Guide had an appreciably lower environmental impact than the current UK diet (in 2016).
New research reveals that Scotland could make significant progress towards the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) targets for reduction in meat consumption, by following existing dietary advice shown in the Eatwell Guide. Upon request from the Scottish Government (SG) , FSS, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, modelled the impact of reduction in meat and dairy intakes on the nation’s micronutrient intake, New research shows existing dietary advice can help us meet climate change mitigation goals | Food Standards Scotland. FSS commissioned research from the University of Edinburgh to understand the impact of achieving recommendations for reducing meat and dairy intakes made by the CCC. The research uses data on dietary intakes collected in adults, as part of the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) in 2021. The researchers modelled a number of scenarios where meat and dairy intake was reduced to assess the impact on micronutrient intakes, achievement of the Scottish Dietary Goals (SDG) and potential impacts on health. To ensure the robustness of the research, FSS and the University of Edinburgh consulted with representatives of the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) throughout this project. SACN members also peer reviewed the final report, alongside expertise from the University of Aberdeen. A copy of the research report, published on the 7th of March 2024 can be found at this link: Modelling the impact of reductions in meat and dairy consumption on nutrient intakes and disease risk | Food Standards Scotland
A5. FSS recommendations for a healthy balanced diet are based on advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and its predecessors. For consumers, these recommendations are depicted by the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide is agreed between the four nations of the UK. (From Plate to Guide: What, why and how for the eatwell model (2016): Eatwell model | Gov.uk) Public Health England (now Department for Health and Social Care) commissioned the Carbon Trust to conduct a post hoc sustainability assessment of the Eatwell Guide.Whilst the outcome of this assessment did not inform decisions around the final model, it indicated that the Eatwell Guide had an appreciably lower environmental impact than the current UK diet (in 2016). The Eatwell Guide – A more sustainable diet (2016): The eatwell guide: A more sustainable diet | The Carbon Trust
A6. Please find in the attached ‘List of Food Standards Scotland Employees by Job Title and Number in that Role’ document the information you requested.
