Food labelling and nutrition on the agenda at Newport

Wednesday 22 August 2001

Food labelling and nutrition will be on the agenda next month when the Food Standards Agency's Advisory Committee for Wales brings its open meeting to Newport.

Members of the public, food producers and retailers, local authority representatives and other organisations with an interest in food are welcome to attend the meeting at the Newport Leisure Centre, Kingsway on Wednesday, 5 September. The meeting will run from 10am to 1pm and close with a question and answer session.

The Advisory Committee for Wales provides advice and information to the FSA on a wide range of issues relevant to its functions. Its chairman, Ann Hemingway, is also a member of the UK-wide Food Standards Agency Board. Holdings its meetings in public emphasises the FSA's commitment to being open and honest in its operations, and allows other interested parties to comment upon the work and aims of the FSA to date.

Anyone interested in the meeting can find a copy of the agenda on the FSA website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/wales/aboutus_wales/advisorycommitteewales/. Those wishing to attend should contact Tes Ahmad on 029 2067 8959.

The Advisory Committee for Wales comprises:-

Mrs Ann Hemingway - Chairman;

Dr Robert Bell, managing director of the Environmental Advice Centre Ltd, a multidisciplinary environmental consultancy based in North Wales;

Dr David Casemore, formerly Head of the National Cryptosporidium Reference Unit of the Public Health Laboratory Service;

Mrs Gilli Davies, Cordon Bleu cook, food journalist and broadcaster;

Professor Margaret Griffiths, Head of the Law School at the University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd;

Professor James Parry, a Professor of Genetics based at the University of Wales, Swansea;

Mrs Dilwen Phillips, an officer on the Board of Trustees of the National Federation of Women's Institutes;

Professor Robert Pickard, Director-General of the British Nutrition Foundation; and

Mr David Smith, a chef, lecturer and advisor to the Welsh Food Alliance.

Notes to editors
The Food Standards Agency was set up in April last year and its Welsh Executive is accountable both to Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.

The FSA will protect the interest of consumers by protecting three core values. It will:

• Put the consumer first;
• Be open and accessible;
• Be an independent voice.

Its functions are to:

• Provide advice to the public and the Government on food safety, nutrition and diet;
• Protect consumers through effective enforcement and monitoring;
• Support consumer choice through accurate and meaningful labelling.

ENDS