Chief Executive’s Report to the Business Committee
Published 25 June 2026
Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales
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1. Incident Response to Cereulide
1.1 In my report to the Committee in March, I outlined the Agency’s role in the cross-Government response across the Four Nations, and with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, to a recall of infant formula products due to potential contamination with cereulide. The recall ultimately affected several brands across 99 countries, although none of the recalled product was manufactured in the UK. Food chain investigations identified the likely source of contamination as arachidonic acid (ARA) oil from China, a synthetic omega‑6 oil.
1.2 We engaged directly with major retailers through a British Retail Consortium forum, met with manufacturers, and worked with local authorities to obtain assurance that affected ARA oil was not being used in products supplied within the UK. In late February, the EU implemented enhanced import measures for ARA oil, and the UK similarly introduced enhanced surveillance at the border. By late March, consumer complaints had decreased, and while some potentially related cases of illness were still being reported, these were considered likely to be retrospective. Our investigation remains ongoing, including continued engagement with Chinese authorities to establish the root cause of the contamination.
2. Allegations of Animal Welfare Breaches
2.1 The FSA is investigating allegations of animal welfare breaches identified through undercover footage at an abattoir practicing non-stunned slaughter in accordance with religious (shechita) requirements, as well as conventional stunned slaughter. The undercover footage is being reviewed and cross-referenced with the establishment’s own CCTV footage. To date, enforcement action has been taken to remove and suspend individuals from roles involving animal handling.
2.2 There has been a series of animal welfare protests at the plant. Our management teams have held meetings with the local police to share information and to support the safety of FSA personnel. We will continue with the investigation and take enforcement action where welfare non-compliances are identified.
3. International Audits and Inspection Engagements
3.1 The draft report of the EU audit conducted in the UK earlier this year, assessing official controls and certification systems for bovine meat intended for export, has now been received. The team is currently reviewing the findings and preparing a coordinated response.
3.2 The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) will visit the UK this month (June) to review the UK pork and beef safety and disease controls. They will visit one beef and one pork abattoir, both in England. Preparations are underway to support this engagement
4. National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) Operations and Engagement
Operation Oxford
4.1 On 3rd March, a 61-year-old male was arrested for conspiracy to defraud in relation to the importation and distribution of counterfeit and misrepresented wine and prosecco. NFCU Officers, alongside Metropolitan Police, seized 90 pallets of wine and prosecco from three warehouses across North London and Essex. The pallets contained over 67,000 bottles with an estimated retail value of approximately £500,000. The man was later released under investigation, and enquiries remain ongoing. The operation brought together multiple partners across law enforcement, local authorities and trading standards, as well as the FSA’s Wine Inspection Team and Italian authorities (ICQRF).
International engagement
4.2 On 1st April, NFCU representatives joined an FSA delegation supporting an inward visit from the Egyptian National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) hosted by the Department for Business and Trade. The NFCU helped to increase the profile of UK food resilience and authenticity, in support of improved market access for the UK and possible future collaboration with Egypt.
5. Illegal Meat Imports and Sale
5.1 As part of the FSA’s ongoing response to illegal meat, the NFCU has used intelligence and operational learning to develop a food business case study, which has successfully influenced key local authorities’ inland enforcement approaches. FSA introduced an Intensified Official Control (IOC) on an exporting establishment in Bulgaria on 6 May. Notification of the IOC was shared with the Bulgarian authorities, requesting action at the identified establishment, and was also escalated by the UK Chief Veterinary Officer to the European Commission. The NFCU continue to consider further tactical opportunities.
6. Middle East Supply Chain Engagement
6.1 The FSA is working closely with Defra, other government departments and industry partners to assess the potential impacts of the Middle East conflict on food supply chains, safety and authenticity. This includes ongoing engagement through the Food Industry Liaison Group (FILG), alongside Defra, and an analytical exercise convened in May, which brought together five nations partners to examine potential food system disruption scenarios. FSA also has ongoing representation on the Defra Permanent Secretary-led Food Impacts Coordination Group, to ensure any cross-Government activity is aligned. This work is strengthening our shared understanding of emerging risks, and informing coordinated preparedness and response planning across government and industry. We will use these insights to support wider Defra-led activity and to refine our assessment of risks to UK food safety and resilience.
7. Finance
7.1 Our provisional outturn for 2025/26 is £154.4m against budgets of £158.7m, excluding depreciation. This represents a £4.3m (3%) net underspend for the Agency as a whole, although budgets are not interchangeable between Westminster, Wales and Northern Ireland.
7.2 Of the above underspend, £2.6m relates to Westminster resource budgets. This underspend arose primarily due to active decisions taken to create financial headroom to mitigate significant in-year risks, most notably the VAT treatment on digital services, which still may crystalise and reduce the level of underspend considerably.
7.3 Despite these challenges, the overall Westminster underspend is the second lowest in the past 5 years. Figures may be subject to change, following year-end adjustments and NAO audit.
7.4 Looking ahead to 2026/27, following the annual business planning exercise, our bid to HM Treasury for additional SPS resources was successful, with £4.7m allocated to fund work on the SPS agreement this year. Following the award of this funding we have revisited the allocations made during the business planning process; the decision from HM Treasury has provided essential funding our work on the SPS agreement and, in turn, that has enabled us to revisit funding for other critical priorities that we were previously unable to properly resource.
8. Pay
8.1 Ahead of publication of the 2026 Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, EMT is assessing priority workforce risks and pressures where pay may be a contributing factor.
8.2 UNISON balloted FSA members in April and May on potential industrial action linked to the 2025–26 pay award. The ballot closed on 7 May and under current statutory provision they did not achieve a mandate for strike action as the required threshold for turnout, 50%, was not reached.
9. Estates
9.1 The initial stages of our premises review for our Northern Ireland office is underway ahead of lease expiration in April 2027.
10. Capita/Pensions
10.1 Capita assumed administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme on 1 December 2025, inheriting a substantial backlog and underlying data and processing issues. This has led to serious service disruption, particularly for new retirees, with some members experiencing delayed payments and financial hardship.
10.2 A Civil Service Pensions Taskforce is overseeing recovery activity and holding Capita to account, with prioritisation of cases involving immediate financial risk. Progress has been made but recovery remains operationally fragile and highly dependent on data quality and capacity.
10.3 The main outstanding risk is the very large backlog of pension quotations. Mitigations remain in place, including access to temporary interest‑free loans for affected members.
10.4 A data breach in March affected 138 pension scheme members when their Annual Benefit Statements were able to be viewed and downloaded by other scheme members. No FSA employees were impacted.
10.5 The period ahead is critical for backlog reduction, service stabilisation and confidence restoration. Capita has committed to returning service to contractual levels and progress will continue to be closely monitored and escalated as required.