Consumer confidence, risk management and European enlargement formed the backbone of a speech given by chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Sir John Krebs to industry alumni this week.
For Krebs uncertainty, risk and trust are the three words that 'seemed to capture the year-end mood' in the UK. But how does this climate affect consumer confidence in the food we eat, Krebs asked the audience.
"Setting out to restore public trust is, if you think about it, a slightly unusual mission. And, given the recent history of food safety in the UK, a somewhat tall order," he said. Krebs maintains that the starting point in protecting consumer interests is that food cannot be guaranteed to be totally risk free. A fact the food industry would clearly agree on. The question on the lips of the consumer, and industry alike, is how can the risk be minimalised? Science and technology provide the principal answers, after this point, humans must take the helm.
Krebs claims that trust is, perhaps, the most valuable of commodities. "It is something you can't buy. The more you ask for it, the less likely you are to get it. Opinion polls suggest that doctors, teachers, clergymen and campaigning organisations tend to have it, whilst government and industry has less of it, " added Krebs.
He remains confident in the manner in which the government and industry alike have reacted to recent food scares in the UK, minimising the potential effect on the consumer.
"The way we have dealt with these risks, working closely with industry, consumers and other stakeholders, has meant that they have not become crises in consumer confidence."
"What we have been exploring in the past three years is a different way of doing things; one that is at the same time more honest and more transparent. Contrast this approach with that of the 80s and 90s. Each new revelation dragged out of government and industry compounded the perception that there was something deeply rotten in the system," he added.
According to Krebs, honesty is certainly the best policy in ensuring that trust between consumer and industry is maintained. He cites recent dealings over the possibility of BSE in sheep.
"We said: "Scientists cannot rule out the possibility of BSE in sheep. None has been found to date but it could be there at a low level and it could pose a food risk. We don't advise you to stop eating lamb, but you the consumer can make up your own mind. We will keep in touch as we find out more.""
It turned out that many people, and importantly the media, were ready for this more honest, straightforward yet more sophisticated message. It is one that gives people options and responsibility, and I think it also leads to two-way trust: "We trust you to make your own choices and you trust us to tell it straight"."
Krebs is unremitting in his belief that transparency and honesty are the keys to installing, and maintaining, trust in the consumer.
"What we promise is that we, at the Agency, will not return to the false reassurances of the past. We will be honest about uncertainty, and we will continue to work in the public interest. These are our stepping stones for building consumer confidence in an increasingly complex and changing world," he concluded. The FSA, and the industry, must continue to ensure that his words ring true for the consumer.