ACMSF report 2020

Membership Tables

Professor Bill Keevil, Chair

Professor of Environmental Healthcare, Head of the Microbiology Group, at the University of Southampton. Subgroup membership: AMR and Incidents.

Professor D McDowell, Deputy Chair

Emeritus Professor of Food Studies, University of Ulster. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, Newly Emerging Pathogens, AMR, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Dr Bob Adak, Member

Former Head of Gastrointestinal Infection Surveillance, Department of Gastrointestinal, Emerging & Zoonotic Infections, Health Protection Services Colindale (PHE). Subgroup membership: Surveillance, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Dr G Barker, Member

Research Scientist. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods. 

Dr R Betts Member

Head of Food Microbiology, Campden BRI. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Dr G Godbole, Member

Consultant Medical Microbiologist and Parasitologist Public Health England. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, AMR and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Mrs E Hill, Member

Head of Food, Health, Safety and Environment, CH&Co Group Ltd.

Professor M Iturriza-Gómara, Member

Professor of Virology, University of Liverpool. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens.

Mr A Kyriakides, Member

Head of Product Quality, Safety and Supplier Performance, Sainsburys. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Miss H Lawson, Member

Senior Environmental Health Officer, Royal Borough of Greenwich. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, QACs and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Dr G Lowe, Member

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Public Health Wales. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens and Incidents.

Dr R Manuel, Member

Consultant Clinical Microbiologist Public Health Laboratory, London. Subgroup membership: AMR.

Professor P McClure, Member

Microbiologist and Microbiology Department Manager, Mondelēz International R&D Ltd. Subgroup membership: Surveillance.

Mr D Nuttall, Member

Catering Manager Harper Adams University College.

Dr D Tucker, Member

Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Public Health/pig medicine, University of Cambridge. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens.

Mrs A Williams, Member

Consumer representative. Subgroup membership: AMR

Dr Wayne Anderson, Member

Director of the Food Science and Standards Division at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland: Subgroup membership: Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Dr Jane Gibbens, Member

Consultant veterinary epidemiologist. Subgroup membership: Surveillance.

Dr Edward Fox, Member

Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University.

Prof Francis Butler, Member

Professor in the School of Biosystems and Food Engineering at University College Dublin and a Principal Investigator in the UCD Centre for Food Safety. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens.

Mr Martin Briggs, Member

Animal feeds expert (GLW Feeds Ltd).

Dr Nicol Janecko, Member

Quadram Institute Norwick. Career Track Group Leader. Subgroup membership: Surveillance.

Co-opted Members

Dr John Points

Member of Expert Committee on Pesticides Residues in Food. Subgroup membership: QACs and Biocides 

Prof Mike Peck

QIB Extra. Subgroup membership: Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Mr C Teale 

Animal and Plant Health Agency. Subgroup membership: AMR.

Prof J Threlfall

Formerly Health Protection Agency (PHE). Subgroup membership: AMR.

Prof R La Ragione

School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey. Subgroup membership: AMR.

Departmental representatives

Dr S Wyllie, Member

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens and AMR.

Dr K Healey

Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Subgroup membership: AMR.

Dr David Mortimer

Food Standards Agency. Subgroup membership: QACs and Biocides.

Helena Cooke

Health and Safety Executive. Subgroup membership: QACs and Biocides.

Scientific Secretaries

Dr Paul Cook, Member

Food Standards Agency. Subgroup membership: Newly Emerging Pathogens , AMR,  QACs and Biocides, Incidents, Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods .

Dr Manisha Upadhyay, Member

Food Standards Agency. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, Newly Emerging Pathogens , AMR and Incidents.

Dr Andrew Day, Member

Food Standards Agency. Subgroup membership: Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Administrative Secretariat

Mr Adekunle Adeoye, Member

Food Standards Agency. Subgroup membership: Surveillance, Newly Emerging Pathogens, AMR, QACs and Biocides, Incidents and Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum and Vac Pac foods.

Ms Azuka Aghadiuno, Member

Food Standards Agency.

Annex IV

 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF FOOD – REGISTER OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

Chair

Professor Bill Keevil

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University of Southampton
• Scientific Advisor: JVS Products Ltd

Non-Personal:

• Grants: Various research grants from public and private sector

Members

Professor David McDowell

Personal Interests:

• ·Employee: University of Ulster Emeritus Professor

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Various Research funding in collaboration with industrial partners

Dr Bob Adak

Personal Interests:

• None

Non- Personal Interests:

• None

Mr David Nutall

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Harper Adams University College

Non- Personal Interests:

• None

Professor M Iturriza-Gómara

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University of Liverpool

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Various Research grants from pharmaceutical industry (vaccine related work)

Dr Gary Barker

Personal Interests:

• None

Non- Personal Interests:

• Grants: Research Funding in collaboration with industrial partners

Dr R Betts

Personal Interests:

• Employee:  Campden Group Services

Non-Personal Interests:

• Work for Campden BRI’s members: A range of food producers/providers and associated service industries

Dr Gauri Godbole

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Public Health England

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Dr Rohini Manuel

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Public Health England

Non-Personal Interests:

• Various: Research funding from public and private sector

Mrs Ann Williams

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Liverpool City Council

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Mrs Emma Hill

Personal Interests:

• Employee: CH&Co Group

Non-Personal Interests:

• Working partnership: UK Hospitality

Mr Alec Kyriakides

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd (until June 2020).
• Independent Food Safety Consultant (from July 2020).
• Shareholder Sainsbury’s Plc

Non-Personal Interests:

• Chairman: Campden BRI

Professor P McClure

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Mondelēz UK R&D Ltd (Europe Manager)
• Shareholder: Unilever
• Royalties for book chapters: Woodhead Publishing and Elsevier

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Dr Gwen Lowe

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Public Health Wales

Non-Personal Interests

• Publishing contract: Chicken House Books

Miss Heather Lawson

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Royal Borough of Greenwich
• Member: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Dr Dan Tucker

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University of Cambridge
• Fellow and Trustee: Pembroke College, Cambridge
• Membership: Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and European College of Pig Health Management
• Consultancy: Genus plc
• Farming Partnership: WJW Tucker and sons
• Shareholder: BP Amoco and Genus plc

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Research funding to support pig clinical residency training programs (Zoetis Animal Health and Ceva Animal Health)

Dr Wayne Anderson

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Food Safety Authority Ireland

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Dr Jane Gibbens

Personal Interests:

• Consultancy: Fee paid work from relevant organisations and consultancies including: advice to APHA on bovine TB epidemiology, Jan 2018 – Mar 2019
• Advice to Northern Ireland CVO on NI veterinary surveillance strategy, Jun-Nov 2018
• Advice on data management and interpretation in the preparation of OIE public/private partnership guidelines

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Professor Francis Butler

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University College Dublin
• Board member: Food Safety Authority for Ireland
• Consultancy: Fee paid work from relevant organisations and consultancies
• Occasional fee-paying consultancy with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority in relation to risk assessment
• Occasional food safety consultancy with the Irish Food Industry

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Partial industry support for research project on dairy products safety (Dairy industry)

Dr Edward Fox

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University of Northumbria

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Have previously received funding from Australia Eggs and Safefood

Mr Martin Briggs

Personal Interests:

• Employee: GLW Feeds

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Dr Nicol Janecko

Personal Interests:

• Employee: Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich

Non-Personal Interests:

• Grants: Campylobacter in the food chain research Foodborne and waterborne pathogens research

Co-opted members

Antimicrobial Resistance Working Group

Mr C Teale

Personal Interests:

• Employee: APHA

Non-personal Interests:

• None

Prof J Threlfall

Personal Interests:

• None

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Prof R La Ragione

Personal Interests:

• Employee: University of Surrey

Non-Personal Interests:

• None

Annex V

CODE OF PRACTICE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF FOOD

 

Public service values

The members of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food must at all times

·    observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in relation to the advice they provide and the management of this Committee;

·    be accountable, through the Food Standards Agency (the Agency) and, ultimately, Ministers, to Parliament and the public for the Committee’s activities and for the standard of advice it provides.

The Ministers of the sponsoring department (the Agency) are answerable to Parliament for the policies and performance of this Committee, including the policy framework within which it operates.

 

Standards in public life

All Committee members must:

·    follow the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by the Committee on    Standards in Public Life (Appendix 1);

·    comply with this Code, and ensure they understand their duties, rights and responsibilities, and that they are familiar with the functions and role of this Committee and any relevant statements of Government policy.  If necessary, members should consider undertaking relevant training to assist them in carrying out their role;

·    not misuse information gained in the course of their public service for personal gain or for political purpose, nor seek to use the opportunity of public service to promote their private interests or those of connected persons, firms, businesses or other organizations;  and

·    not hold any paid or high-profile unpaid posts in a political party, and not engage in specific political activities on matters directly affecting the work of this Committee.  When engaging in other political activities, Committee members should be conscious of their public role and exercise proper discretion.  These restrictions do not apply to MPs (in those cases where MPs are eligible to be appointed), to local councillors, or to Peers in relation to their conduct in the House of Lords.

 

 

Role of Committee members

Members have collective responsibility for the operation of this Committee.  They must:

·    engage fully in collective consideration of the issues, taking account of the full range of relevant factors, including any guidance issued by the Agency;

·    ensure that they adhere to the Agency’s Code of Practice on Openness (including prompt responses to public requests for information); agree an Annual Report; and, where practicable and appropriate, provide suitable opportunities to open up the work of the Committee to public scrutiny; 

·    follow Agency guidelines on divulging any information provided to the Committee in confidence;

·    ensure that an appropriate response is provided to complaints and other correspondence, if necessary with reference to the Agency; and

·    ensure that the Committee does not exceed its powers or functions.

Individual members should inform the Chair (or the Secretariat on his behalf) if they are invited to speak in public in their capacity as a Committee member.

Communications between the Committee and the Agency will generally be through the Chair except where the Committee has agreed that an individual member should act on its behalf.  Nevertheless, any member has the right of access to the Chair of the Agency on any matter which he or she believes raises important issues relating to his or her duties as a Committee member. In such cases, the agreement of the rest of the Committee should normally be sought.

Individual members can be removed from office by the Chair of the Agency if, in the view of the Chair of the Agency, they fail to carry out the duties of office or are otherwise unable or unfit to carry out those duties.

The role of the Chair 

The Chair has particular responsibility for providing effective leadership on the issues above.  In addition, the Chair is responsible for: 

·    ensuring that the Committee meets at appropriate intervals, and that the minutes of meetings and any reports to the Agency accurately record the decisions taken and, where appropriate, the views of individual members;

·    representing the views of the Committee to the general public, notifying and, where appropriate, consulting the Agency, in advance where possible; and

·    ensuring that new members are briefed on appointment (and their training needs considered), and providing an assessment of their performance, on request, when members are considered for re-appointment to the Committee or for appointment to the board of some other public body.

DEPARTMENTAL ASSESSORS AND THE SECRETARIAT

Departmental assessors

Meetings of the ACMSF and its Groups are attended by Departmental Assessors.  The Assessors are currently nominated by, and are drawn from, those with relevant policy interests and responsibilities in the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.  Assessors are not members of the ACMSF and do not participate in Committee business in the manner of members.  The role of the Assessors includes sharing with the secretariat the responsibility of ensuring that information is not unnecessarily withheld from the Committee. Assessors should make the Committee aware of the existence of any information that has been withheld from the Committee on the basis that it is exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information legislation unless that legislation provides a basis for not doing so. Assessors keep their parent Departments informed about the Committee’s work and act as a conduit for the exchange of information; advising the Committee on relevant policy developments and the implications of ACMSF proposals; informing ACMSF work through the provision of information; and being informed by the Committee on matters of mutual interest. Assessors are charged with ensuring that their parent Departments is promptly informed of any matters which may require a response from Government.

The Secretariat

The primary function of the Secretariat is to facilitate the business of the Committee.  This includes supporting the Committee by arranging its meetings, assembling and analysing information, and recording conclusions.  An important task is ensuring that proceedings of the Committee are properly documented and recorded.  The Secretariat is also a source of advice and guidance to members on procedures and processes.

The ACMSF Secretariat is drawn from staff of the Food Standards Agency. However, it is the responsibility of the Secretariat to be an impartial and disinterested reporter and at all times to respect the Committee’s independent role.  The Secretariat is required to guard against introducing bias during the preparation of papers, during meetings, or in the reporting of the Committee’s deliberations.

Handling conflicts of interest

The purpose of these provisions is to avoid any danger of Committee members being influenced, or appearing to be influenced, by their private interests in the exercise of their public duties.  All members should declare any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to, influence their judgement.  A guide to the types of interest which should be declared is at Appendix 2. 

(i)  Declaration of Interests to the Secretariat

Members of the Committee should inform the Secretariat in writing of their current personal and non-personal interests (or those of close family members* and of people living in the same household), when they are appointed, including the principal position(s) held.  Only the name of the company and the nature of the interest are required; the amount of any salary etc need not be disclosed.  Members are asked to inform the Secretariat at any time of any change of their personal interests and will be invited to complete a declaration form once a year.  It is sufficient if changes in non-personal interests are reported in the annual declaration form following the change.  (Non-personal interests involving less than £1,000 from a particular company in the previous year need not be declared to the Secretariat).

The register of interests should be kept up-to-date and be open to the public. 

(ii)  Declaration of Interests and Participation at Meetings

Members of the Committee are required to declare any direct commercial interests, or those of close family members,* and of people living in the same household, in matters under discussion at each meeting.  Members should not participate in the discussion or determination of matters in which they have an interest, and should normally withdraw from the meeting (even if held in public) if:-

·  their interest is direct and pecuniary; or

· their interest is covered in specific guidance issued by the ACMSF or the Agency which requires them not to participate in, and/or to withdraw from, the meeting.

Personal liability of Committee members

A Committee member may be personally liable if he or she makes a fraudulent or negligent statement which results in a loss to a third party; or may commit a breach of confidence under common law or a criminal offence under insider dealing legislation, if he or she misuses information gained through their position.  However, the Government has indicated that individual members who have acted honestly, reasonably, in good faith and without negligence will not have to meet out of their own personal resources any personal civil liability which is incurred in execution or purported execution of their Committee functions.