Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body will conduct risk assessments for Northern Ireland after the UK no longer has access to the European Food Safety Authority after 1 January 2020.
Since 1 January 2021 the Food Standards Agency (FSA), alongside Food Standards Scotland, has been responsible for providing many of the risk analysis functions for the United Kingdom, with ministers in the UK is maintained.
Although the FSA is responsible for the safety of food and feed across England, Wales,and Northern Ireland, European Union law that applies in Northern Ireland under the NI Protocol (NIP) will generally not be subject to a risk analysis by the FSA in addition to the analysis carried out by the EU’s risk management process.
When we consider an issue through the UK risk analysis process, we will continue to consider the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, whilst recognising the continued application of the EU’s risk management process in Northern Ireland under the NIP.