Legislation on food is directed from Europe and there are EC Directives dealing
with both general and specific areas. In the UK the principal enabling legislation
is the Food Safety Act 1990 and from this Act there are regulations dealing with
hygiene, compositional standards, labelling, temperature control, specific foods,
etc. Food legislation in Scotland is primarily enforced through local councils and
is delegated to Directors/ Heads of Environment and Health to manage local service
delivery arrangements.
The Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee (SFELC) co-ordinates the food law
enforcement and sampling/surveillance activities of Scottish local councils. SFELC
draws its membership from a wide variety of interested agencies including HPS. SFELC
membership also includes, Public Analysts and Microbiologists, representation from
The Food Standards Agency Scotland, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, LACORS,
Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, Chief Environment and Health Officers
and The Scottish Consumer Council.
As part of its surveillance role SFELC produces, periodically, reports of food surveys,
which consider specific aspects of food production and consumption.