Making sure it all adds up
I’m often on record saying that science is fundamental to the FSA’s work – it drives our investigations and understanding of the risks to consumers. Of course, the statistics and other analytical...
View ArticleHigh caffeine intake linked to hallucination proneness
Most people love their cup of tea or coffee, however, in this week's papers you may have read that people who drink too much coffee could start seeing ghosts or hearing strange voices. The research,...
View ArticleIgnorance isn't always bliss
Lucy Mangan, writing in Saturday's Guardian newspaper, laments the Agency's initiative to have calorie counts printed next to dishes on the menus of restaurants, canteens and takeaways. Lucy thinks we...
View ArticleCancer prevention is a team effort
Today the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) published a policy report to show how we can all work together to prevent cancer.If you cast your minds back to November before last, you might remember that...
View ArticleGreen light for single food label system
You may have read in the papers recently that, according to Which? research, the most popular brands of cereal have high levels of sugar. Many of these are targeted at children and beg the question:...
View ArticleNational Allergy Week
This week is National Allergy Week and Coeliac Awareness Week, highlighting important issues for nearly two million people in the UK who are affected by these conditions.There are approximately 200...
View ArticleSnow and social science
Last week I finally got to welcome Professor Sir Roger Jowell to the Agency to present the third lecture in my Chief Scientist’s lecture series. I say ‘finally’ as we had to postpone his original...
View ArticleAnecdotes, science and aspartame
What role does ‘anecdotal evidence’ play in science? Truly anecdotal evidence is not evidence in the scientific sense, it's observation, it’s often subjective, and the effects seen may be due to a...
View ArticleLaunch of Fera
Sadly I was unable to attend last week's official launch of Defra's new national research centre for food and the environment. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) was officially launched...
View ArticleUnknown unknowns
You might have seen the media reporting yesterday that ham sandwiches shouldn't be included in children’s lunchboxes. While there is some evidence linking bowel cancer to red and processed meats, there...
View ArticleScience can simply be ambiguous
You may remember that at our Board meeting back in December, we decided that our advice on eating peanuts when pregnant, breast-feeding and weaning needed to change. This is because a major review by...
View ArticleAdvising on folic acid
It was interesting to hear the news story from Scotland on the reported increase in babies being born with spina bifida. This links to work the Agency has done on this very issue, looking at ways of...
View ArticleStay out of the sweetshop and out of jail
'A sweet a day helps your children grow up violent' is the headline in The Independent this morning, which is reporting on a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Now, it's not every...
View ArticleRSC Chemistry Week 2009
Throughout this year the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has had a series of events showcasing the vital role of chemistry in food. It’s therefore not surprising that they chose food as the theme of...
View ArticleMarketing gold or practical innovation?
As I write this, some of my colleagues are at a conference in Amsterdam, working with their counterparts from all over Europe to review and refine procedures to assess the safety of new foods and...
View ArticleUsing science: the principles and practicalities
The Agency is committed to a science- and evidence-based approach in all that we do, and this is reaffirmed both in our new strategy and our new science and evidence strategy (which we will publish...
View ArticleYour views matter
When we’re gathering evidence to develop new policies, we understand how important the public’s views are in contributing to this. I was therefore interested to read the latest annual report of British...
View ArticleNutrition Research Review
Yesterday we published a strategic review of our nutrition research portfolio. It was conducted by an external, independent panel of experts who have taken a close look at current work and made...
View ArticleThe supersized Last Supper
An interesting piece of research appeared yesterday, suggesting that the size of food portions have grown dramatically over the past millennium.Having studied 52 famous biblical paintings of the Last...
View ArticleShould we be scared of science?
Should we be concerned that a report of Public Attitudes to Science, commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, found that almost half of the respondents didn’t think the...
View ArticleSmall pond, same big issues...
It looks like the US faces the same problem as us – their media appear intent on promoting scary headlines and shy away from good news stories that could allay consumer fears. In his blog, Trevor...
View ArticleBack to the future
Climate change, flooding, droughts, energy price rises, a squeeze on the economy could all have consequences on food safety. But how and when?A recent study provides one example: it found that the...
View ArticleA year in the life of the Social Science Research Committee
We really value the expertise of our independent Social Science Research Committee. It helps us when we’re developing our policies and advice to make sure we’re taking account of how people and...
View ArticleWe can beat the bugs
Our recently published study on infectious intestinal disease (IID) unearthed some worrying statistics. The research found that almost 17 million people suffer from episodes of vomiting, diarrhoea, or...
View ArticleSumming up our science
One of the real pleasures of my job is signing off my annual report, and the fifth report is now available. A pleasure because it gives me the chance to demonstrate the commitment of the FSA to science...
View ArticleLook before you book
Dirty premises, grubby hands and weird things turning up in food – these are common complaints that we hear on our helpline. These general concerns are reflected in our latest public attitudes tracker,...
View ArticleOpen says me
The big news in the move towards making publicly-funded research open and free, is the recruitment of Wikipedia co-founder, Jimmy Wales. He is tasked with helping the Government deliver its commitment...
View ArticleWe need more Foxes and less foxiness
Many congratulations to Fiona Fox and her dedicated team of scientists at the Science Media Centre (SMC), which held its 10th anniversary at the Science Museum in London last night. Several speakers at...
View ArticleSéralini study 'not supported by data'
I wrote a few weeks ago about research by Séralini et al that raised concerns about the potential toxicity of genetically modified maize NK603 and of a herbicide containing glycophosate. You will find...
View ArticleFancy checking out our priorities?
The Agency has just published itsForward Evidence Plan for 2013. The plan outlines science and evidence priorities for the coming year, including potential areas for research funding.The proposals...
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