Food incidents

How we manage food and feed incidents

Young woman checking the food label on a small box of food.

Routine incidents

We manage routine food and feed incidents via our internal routine incident management plan. This plan sets out a framework for us to respond effectively and consistently to routine incidents.

This includes any incidents or issues that could:

impact on public health
undermine confidence in the food supply system
harm the reputation of Scottish food businesses and industry
harm FSS’s reputation
harm FSS’s ability to operate

Our incident management framework helps us to respond effectively and appropriately to incidents. We also have an incident communications plan that underpins the framework and sets out the guiding principles and protocols we follow when communicating with the public and others during non-routine incidents. Please note this is currently under review.

Read our incident management framwork

Guidance on the management of outbreaks of foodborne illness in Scotland

As part of the Scottish Health Protection Network, Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland worked with a multidisciplinary group to develop detailed guidance on specific multi-agency arrangements and actions relating to the management of outbreaks of foodborne illness in Scotland. These included:

local authorities
health boards
clinical reference laboratories
public analyst scientific services

Read guidance about the management of outbreaks of foodborne illness in Scotland

The guidance should be read in conjunction with over-arching guidance published by Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Health Protection Network on behalf of Scottish Government.

Management of public health incidents: guidance on the roles and responsibilities of NHS led incident management teams

Further information on Food Standards Scotland’s processes and structures when fulfilling our responsibilities in response to non-routine food or feed-related incidents in Scotland can be found in our incident management framework.

These guidance documents are intended for all those involved in the investigation and control of foodborne outbreaks in Scotland to use as a guide when developing their own plans for managing such incidents.

International incidents

We work with international partners to:

safeguard food entering the UK
be at the forefront of international developments in food safety
influence international food safety standards

This allows us to make sure that global standards protect consumers in the UK.

In the event of a food or feed incident occurring at international level, the incidents team is responsible for the coordination of communication at an EU and international level. This communication is done through International Food Safety Authority Network (INFOSAN) and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) via the European Commission.

Contents

INFOSAN is a global network of national food safety authorities. It is managed jointly by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). It:

assists food safety authorities worldwide in managing food safety risks
makes sure that information is shared quickly during food safety emergencies to stop the spread of contaminated food from one country to another
facilitates the sharing experiences and tested solutions in and between countries to optimise future interventions to protect the health of consumers

RASFF is a notification system operated by the European Commission. Its purpose is to exchange information on identified hazards between Member States. It covers food, food contact materials and animal feed. This effective tool for the exchange of information helps Member States to act more quickly and in a coordinated manner in response to a safety threat.

Although the UK is no longer an active member of the EU Commission RASFF network, we still have third country access to RASFF. FSS receives food and feed safety related information where the UK is affected by an incident.

Across the public sector

This Public Sector Incident Protocol (PSIP) aims to set out national arrangements for responding swiftly and effectively to food incidents that require coordinated action across the public sector.

Find out more about the Public Sector Incident Protocol

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