After a day of rampant speculation concerning the future of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the UK’s Department of Health (DoH) has issued a statement in a bid to clarify the current status of the country’s independent food watchdog.

Reports over the weekend and today (12 July) suggested the FSA could be disbanded, with its functions moving to the DoH and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

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Responding to the reports this morning, the DoH said “no decision” had been taken on the future of the FSA but said it and other “arms-length bodies” would go under review.

In a further statement this afternoon, the DoH reaffirmed its position and said: “The Government recognises the important role of the Food Standards Agency and there will continue to be a robust regulatory function delivered through the FSA.”

However, the DoH added: “As part of our wider drive to increase the accountability of public bodies and reduce their number and cost, we will also consider where some of the other functions of the FSA should best sit to ensure they are delivered most effectively.”

The statement provided an indication of government thinking on the agency. In its Green Paper, A Healthier Nation, published before the election, the Conservative Party mooted the idea of moving some of the FSA’s functions to government departments.

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Specifically, it said: “We will put parts of the Food Standards Agency which are responsible for the nutritional content of food and a slimmed down Health Protection Agency into the Department of Public Health so that public health strategies are consistent.”

One of the prime criticisms of the FSA is that its brief has become too broad, having expanded from its original remit on food safety to embrace areas such as nutrition and dietary advice.

However, speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon on a government White Paper on the NHS, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley stated that he had not made any comments on the FSA but that the agency will be part of a review in the autumn.

A spokesperson for the FSA told just-food earlier today that she had “no idea” where the reports of the FSA being disbanded had originated.