Board Operating Framework

Our aims

The Food Standards Agency was established by the Food Standards Act 1999 as an independent government department working to protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Our mission is food you can trust. This means a food system in which:

• food is safe
• food is what it says it is
• food is healthier and more sustainable

Our governance

The Board of the Agency is collectively responsible for all of the Agency’s activities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Board is accountable to the Westminster Parliament through the Secretary of State for Health, to the Senedd through the Assembly Secretary for Health and Social Services, and to the Northern Ireland Assembly through the Northern Ireland Health Minister. We produce an annual report of our activities and performance which is laid before the Westminster Parliament, the Senedd, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Board regulates its own procedures in accordance with Food Standards Act 1999, Schedule 1, 9 (1). This Board Operating Framework brings together all of the Board’s procedures into a governance framework for the FSA. 

Our ways of working

We are committed to operating in an open and transparent way. As an organisation we will be accessible to and actively communicate with all our stakeholders. Our decisions and the information on which they are based will be recorded and accessible, so that any organisation or individual can make informed judgements about the way in which we are carrying out our functions.

Our pledge is to put the consumer first in everything we do. We will strive to gain and maintain the trust, respect and confidence of all our stakeholders. We will learn from experience and actively seek feedback to improve continually the ways in which we work. We aim always to provide the best possible service. You can find out more in our Statement of General Objectives and Practices, and our Policy on Openness.