Food Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency was set up in April 2000 under the Food Standards Act 1999. Its main aim is to protect people's health and the interest of the consumer in relation to food. The Agency is a UK wide non-ministerial government department operating at arm's length from Ministers. It also has statutory powers to publish its own independent advice.
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Executive Agencies
Meat Hygiene Service
The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) was established as an Executive Agency of the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on 1 April 1995, when the MHS took over meat inspection duties from some 300 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. There are separate arrangements in Northern Ireland. The MHS was transferred from the former MAFF (now part of Defra) to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on 1 April 2000, when the FSA came into existence.
In addition to its work on public health, the MHS also enforces legislation relating to animal welfare at slaughter and the collection and dispatch of samples for various types of tests. It performs this work under Service Level Agreements with Defra and its agencies, the Department for Environment, Planning and Countryside of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD).
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