Update on the work of other Scientific Advisory Committees- March 2022

Committee 

Recent activity   

Further Information 

Science Council  

Updated: January 2022. 

Last open meeting: 9 December 2021 (Open session). 

• The Chair presented a summary of the Science Council’s activity over the last 6 months. 

• The FSA provided an update on the Annual Science report to the FSA Board and the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) for FSA science. 

• The CSA updated the Council on his recent activity and discussions (including the Government spending review, gene editing food, food labelling and alternative proteins). 

• An update on progress of Working Group 6 on Food Safety and Net Zero Carbon (including the workshop on 18 November). 

• Updates from Science Council members attending Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs). 

Next open meeting: 23 June 2022. 

Chair: Professor Sandy Thomas 

Secretariat: sciencecouncil@food.gov.uk  

Website: Science Council | Science Council (food.gov.uk)

Advisory Committee for  

Social Science (ACSS) 

Updated: Jan 2022. 

Last meeting: 26th Jan 2022 (8th plenary, open session).  

Key agenda items: 

• FSA updated on key projects within the Analytics Unit, including new work programmes: Behavioural Trials and Wider Consumer interests.  

• Updates on working group activity.  

• A proposal for an economics working group was discussed.  

• Update from Prof. Sandy Thomas on working group outputs from the Science Council, and recruitment.  

• Strategy team presented the emerging FSA strategy and the ACSS secretariat reported an initial assessment of how well ACSS expertise, and the FSA social science research plan, address key strategy topics.     

Minutes and papers will be uploaded to the website when ready.   

Working group highlights:  

• The Climate Change and Consumer Behaviour working group are planning a second stage workshop in mid February, following the expert engagement exercise in 2021 which aimed to map potential consumer behaviour trends influenced by climate change concerns (a summary of this work is available here). The second workshop will engage across the FSA to explore possible next steps.   

• The Assurance working group have commissioned a piece of work to develop a ‘good science’ quality assurance toolkit to support the production of high-quality research.  

• The Kitchen Life 2 working group continues to support the research project Kitchen Life 2.  

• Membership and chair of the working group to support the Wider Consumer Interests has been decided. Members are now working on developing terms of reference for the group and scoping possible activity/input.   

The next open meeting of the ACSS will be June/July TBC 2022. 

Chair: Professor Susan Michie  

Secretariat: acss@food.gov.uk   

Website: Advisory Committee for Social Science | Advisory Committee for Social Science (food.gov.uk)

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) 

Updated: February 2022. 

Last meeting: 2 February 2022. 

In addition to a dossier on Barley Protein and two new dossiers on CBD (reserved business), an update of how the CBD dossiers (225 applications) are being managed was given.   

Minutes for the 149th and 150th meetings were agreed and a balance between transparency and data protection was further discussed. 

The Committee was thanked for their contribution to an intersessional paper on the scientific criteria for considering Genome Edited products to support Policy in their work on this issue. 

The ongoing recruitment was highlighted to members especially on the ACNFP posts.   

Next meeting: 30th March 2022. 

Chair: Dr Camilla Alexander-White 

Secretariat: acnfp@food.gov.uk   

Website: Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes | Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes

Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) 

Updated: 15 February 2022.

The Committee’s last meeting was on 09 February 2022. The issues they considered include: 

An information paper summarising action taken on points arising from the minutes of previous meetings Matters arising.  

A presentation on the FSA’s path-safe project PATH-SAFE: Tracking Foodborne Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance Microbes.

FSA’s ongoing Kitchen Life 2 project FSA's Kitchen Life 2 Project. 

The work of the committee over the years and a forward look on future work areas 100th Meeting of the ACMSF - Reflections. 

The UKFSR focussing on the chapter related to foodborne disease and incidents UK Food Security Report 2021. 

FSA surveys on frozen breaded/battered chicken products. This was considered in closed session. 

Information papers sent to members include: 

• ACMSF Work plan 

• Update from other Committees 

• Items of interest from the literature 

• Food and You Survey - Wave 3 

• Botulism in cattle, sheep and goats literature update (available on request). 

Next meeting: 23rd June 2022. 

Chair: Professor Bill Keevil 

Secretariat: acmsf@food.gov.uk   

Website: Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of food | Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of food 

Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding stuffs (ACAF) 

Updated:  

Last meeting: 27th June 2019.

Next meeting: No dates set for 2021 meeting Epidemiology of F gs – Committee under review. 

Chair: - 

Secretariat: acaf@food.gov.uk    

Website: Advisory Committee on animal feedingstuffs | Advisory Committee on animal feedingstuffs (food.gov.uk)

Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) 

Updated: March 2022. 

Last meeting: 10th February 2022. 

Topics discussed included: 

At their December meeting the Committee discussed items including topic proposals for a COT workshop in March 2022, part 2 of a discussion paper on the risk assessment of cow’s milk in children aged 1 to 5 years, in the context of the previous evaluation of plant based drinks and two Reserved items: Smoke flavourings reauthorisations and a discussion paper on vitamin D exposure levels in formula fed infants. 

The Committee continued their work on maternal health, reviewing the first draft of a statement on the effects of excess Vitamin A on maternal health and a discussion paper on the potential risks from cadmium in the maternal diet. 

Also the Committee reviewed an interim paper on the potential health risks of bamboo food contact materials and the EFSA draft opinion and exposure protocol open for public consultation on Phthalates. 

• Next meeting: 10th  May 2022. 

Chair: Professor Alan Boobis 

Secretariat: cot@food.gov.uk  

Website: Committee on Toxicity | Committee on Toxicity (food.gov.uk)

Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment  (COC)  

Updated:  November 2021. 

Last meeting:  18th November. 

Topics on the agenda included: 

Horizon scanning, update to guidance statement on alternatives to the assessment of potential carcinogenicity, presentation on patient derived cell models.  

Next meeting:  

2 March 2022. 

Further meetings: 

21 July 2022.

17 November 2022. 

Chair: Professor David Harrison  

Secretariat:  

COC@phe.gov.uk   

Website:  Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM) 

Updated: October 2021. 

Last meeting:  12 October 2021.  

Topics discussed included:   

•  Review of EFSA opinion on titanium dioxide. 

• Hydroxyanthracene derivatives in supplements.  

• Horizon scanning. 

• Draft Annual Report for 2020. 

• OECD Draft Detailed Review Paper on the Miniaturised Versions of the Bacterial Reverse Gene Mutation Test. 

• QSAR and Genotoxicity. 

Next meeting: 1 March 2022. 

Further meetings: 

9 June 2022. 

13 October 2022. 

Chair: Prof Gareth Jenkins 

Secretariat: 

COM@phe.gov.uk   

Website: Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) 

Updated: November 2021. 

Last meeting: 10th November. 

Nutrition and COVID-19, Feeding young children aged 12-60 months, folic acid and National Diet and Nutrition Survey blood analytes, horizon scanning. 

Next meeting: 11th March 2022. 

Further meetings:   

Friday 17th June 2022;  

Friday 11th Nov 2022. 

Chair: Professor Ian Young 

Secretariat: 

SACN@phe.gov.uk   

Website:  Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)