FSS Strategy – A safe, authentic and healthier food environment that Scotland can trust

We will ensure the services we deliver are effective, efficient, inclusive and sustainable.

Over the past five years, FSS has made significant progress in developing a data-led and digitally enabled approach to our work, and this will continue to be a key priority throughout the delivery of this strategy. 

Through this strategy, we are committed to delivering our work in a more data driven way. We will:

• continue to strengthen and enhance our digital and data science capabilities
• explore the benefits of Artificial Intelligence and cloud technologies
• optimise the quality and accessibility of the data we collect to inform decisions, measure impacts, and share insights with stakeholders

Public engagement is central to supporting our vision of a food system that is safe, trusted and healthier for all. We will build on our existing communications strategy to ensure our messages are clear, evidence-based and accessible to all audiences, particularly those most affected by food safety risks and poor diet.

We will continue to communicate in ways that inform, build trust and support behaviour change, while also listening more actively to the views of consumers. By strengthening our use of social research and digital tools, we aim to better understand public concerns and adapt our messages accordingly.

In addition to direct engagement with the public, we will work closely with industry and food business operators to amplify key messages and improve understanding of the role FSS plays in protecting consumers. These partnerships will be key to ensuring our messages reach as wide an audience as possible, build advocacy for our work, and support businesses to deliver safe, authentic and healthier food in ways that benefit everyone.

We will expand our engagement and communications to better reach marginalised and low-income groups, ensuring our messages are inclusive, accessible and informed by public interest and experience’, supported by our new website and Accessibility & Inclusive Communications Plan.

Through this approach, we will strengthen awareness of our role, promote informed choices, and support a more transparent and collaborative food system for Scotland.

We recognise that the medium to long-term projections of demand and cost for all Scotland’s public services are extremely challenging. The immediacy of this means we must continue to deliver efficiencies and make more effective use of resources to deliver services while reducing demand and cost and improving outcomes for the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government launched the Public Service Reform (PSR) Strategy in summer 2025 to overhaul the way public services are delivered, with a focus on early intervention, prevention, and citizen-centred outcomes. PSR is core to achieving a fiscally sustainable Scotland, focusing on aligning spending with strategic priorities through a new fiscal sustainability delivery plan.

We are fully committed to working with and progressing PSR principles of whole system working with national bodies LAs, the third sector, and communities. FSS was allocated a proportion of monies from the Scottish Government’s £30 million “invest to save funds” (2025-26) to support efficiency and productivity improvements tied to reform. The FSS programme to reform and modernise the delivery of food law in Scotland is considered groundbreaking and early testament to our public service reform ambitions. 

We will continue to take account of the increasing focus on wider government policy for tackling the impacts of climate change and making our food system more sustainable and resilient. This means ensuring FSS delivers sustainably at organisational level and that we consider environmental and societal impacts in all policy, operational and corporate aspects of our work. 

We understand the important role we must play in supporting the Scottish Government to deliver their ambitions for Scotland as a Good Food Nation, and its transition to Net Zero. This will help create a healthy, sustainable and equitable food environment for everyone in Scotland.

Making progress towards the Scottish Dietary Goals will improve health outcomes but also support climate objectives by reducing emissions associated with our current food system. Diets aligned with the Eatwell Guide can significantly reduce environmental impact while improving population health. It will therefore be essential to explore synergies between dietary health and climate goals, working closely with government, industry, and public sector partners to identify opportunities for action that benefit both health and sustainability.