Reading between the lines
I recently welcomed Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre of Bad Science fame to the Agency for one of my occasional Chief Scientist lectures. He entertained many Agency staff and Scientific Advisory...
View ArticleOut with the old
Science and the media are strange bedfellows and share a complex relationship. Usually scientists bemoan the fact that science is misrepresented by journalists, either by using studies that grab...
View ArticleMaking sure it all adds up
I’m often on record saying that science is fundamental to the FSA’s work – it drives our investigations and understanding of the risks to consumers. Of course, the statistics and other analytical...
View ArticleFrom science to policy
Last week’s discussion of the Agency’s Nutrient Profiling Model has stimulated some discussion of the role of science in developing policy. The Agency has a proud record of being an evidence-based...
View ArticleFSA science under the microscope
In January last year, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor John Beddington, started the independent review of the FSA';s science. The report of the review is published today and I'm...
View ArticleIs science playing dumb?
Interesting to hear two people who have been involved in the Agency’s work debating the quality of science reporting on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday. Ben Goldacre, who has delivered one of my...
View ArticleAnecdotes, science and aspartame
What role does ‘anecdotal evidence’ play in science? Truly anecdotal evidence is not evidence in the scientific sense, it's observation, it’s often subjective, and the effects seen may be due to a...
View ArticleWhen calorie counting doesn't add up
I enjoyed the article in this week's New Scientist, which highlighted the lack of precision in calorie labelling. Essentially, not all calories are equal since the complexity and texture of the food...
View ArticleOn organic food
Organic food has certainly been in the headlines today and as Andrew is on holiday, I’ve been asked to do a guest blog. I, by the way, am Gill Fine, Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health for...
View ArticleUnknown unknowns
You might have seen the media reporting yesterday that ham sandwiches shouldn't be included in children’s lunchboxes. While there is some evidence linking bowel cancer to red and processed meats, there...
View ArticlePssst! Do you want to know a secret?
Andrew is out of the office today and so I have taken the opportunity to blog. I am Terrence Collis, Director of Communications here at the FSA.There have been a few articles in the national press over...
View ArticleScientist vs media: the big fight
You may have seen that Terrence hijacked my blog last week to refute unfair criticism of the Agency. It provided another illustration that our relationship with the media is not always smooth. I was...
View ArticleUsing science: the principles and practicalities
The Agency is committed to a science- and evidence-based approach in all that we do, and this is reaffirmed both in our new strategy and our new science and evidence strategy (which we will publish...
View Article...and a partridge in a pear tree
Christmas is always a good time to reflect on another year passing, so here are some of my thoughts: Most amusing–Ben Goldacre’s description of the Daily Mail’s Sisyphian project of categorising the...
View ArticleThe data behind the review
The Agency published a scientific review of organic food last July, which found that there are no important nutrient differences or nutrition-related health benefits from eating organic food, compared...
View ArticleA war against pseudoscience
I wanted to add a few words of support for the Government Chief Scientific Adviser John Beddington’s ‘war against bad science’. At an annual conference of scientific civil servants last month,...
View ArticleFair enough?
While it's not my normal bedtime read, a recent report from the BBC Trust caught my eye. The Trust commissioned Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London, to review the...
View ArticleThe experts behind our advice
For those of you interested in the science behind our work on foodborne disease, I thoroughly recommend a read of the latest report of our Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food at:...
View ArticleDemanding evidence
The launch of the new Ask for Evidence campaign from Sense about Science is timely given the subject of Terrence’s blog yesterday.Ask for Evidence aims to get more people challenging those who make...
View ArticleScience and evidence are our founding principles
Next week, the FSA Board will discuss the draft Annual Report of the FSA Chief Scientist, 2013.The report, which will be discussed in its draft form as an FSA Board paper contains some riveting reading...
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