Science, uncertainty and policy: food for thought

The organisation and work of the Food Standards Agency are described. The A gency is a new non-Ministerial Government department with responsibility fo r protecting the health of the public and other interests of consumers in r elation to food. Its roles encompass assessment of risk (through scientific expert committees) as well as risk communication and management. Among the many changes that the Agency has brought about is a new commitment to open ness. All policy discussions and decisions take place in public. Diet and b ovine spongiform encephalopathy are used as examples to illustrate the Agen cy's approaches to dealing with risk and uncertainty. Crown Copyright (C) 2 001 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.