UK: White Paper On New Agency

The British government is expected this week to publish a White Paper on its proposed Food Standards Agency, amid controversy over who is to foot the estimated £200 million annual bill for the agency’s administration and running costs. The earlier fears that establishment of the FSA would be accompanied by an attempt severely to restrict food advertising appears to have diminished, but the food industry is now concerned lest it might be asked to pay the prospective FSA’s large annual bill. The Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, has said that this “sounds suspiciously like a tax on food by the back door.”