A consultation on a consumer body for Scotland

1. This submission is made by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland. FDF Scotland represents the food and drink manufacturing industry in Scotland. We are Scotland's largest manufacturing sector, accounting for 30% of total manufacturing turnover and our gross value added to the economy is £3.8bn, representing 29.7% of Scottish manufacturing value added. We have 1,015 food and drink manufacturing businesses, employing 45,000 people, which represents 25% of the Scottish manufacturing workforce. In 2017, all food and drink exports from Scotland have increased by 11% to £6bn.

2. FDF Scotland welcomes the opportunity to make comments on issues relevant to the food and drink manufacturing industry that are raised in the Consumer Body consultation.

3. We agree with the high-level principles of the proposed Consumer Scotland body. We note many similarities between the potential remit of consumer Scotland and Food Standards Scotland particularly protecting consumers from harm.

4. A key ask is that once established, Consumer Scotland works closely with the food and drink supply chain and food crime experts in Food Standards Scotland to protect Scotland’s consumers from harm and protect Scotland’s reputation for exporting safe and authentic products.

5. FDF Scotland recommends that Consumer Scotland collaborates closely with counterparts in the rest of the UK as food and drink manufacturing has complex supply chains that do not stop at the Scotland/England border. We are aware of good practice between FSS and the Food Standards Agency who collaborate and share intelligence on emerging issues to keep consumers safe.