The UK Food Standards Agency(FSA)has published a framework,which will be used by the agency to decide when and how to use data from,or to fund research in collaboration with,industry or non-governmental organisations(NGOs).
The framework outlines the principles and the approach the Agency will follow in weighing the benefits such as improving the evidence base;access to expertise or sharing costs of sharing data or funding against the need to ensure the quality of the data;and risks to the perception of FSA's independence.
According to the agency,in some cases,there are already well-established procedures in place to ensure that these principles are balanced effectively.However,in other cases,the agency will use this framework to make decisions on sharing data and funding with industry and NGO partners on a case-by-case basis.
FSA chief scientist Andrew Wadge said that the agency seeks to work with others to ensure it has access to a full and comprehensive evidence base,and in doing so,FSA also needs to assess the quality of data.
"This framework lets us do this in an open and consistent way.It's a key piece of work and I'm really grateful to the General Advisory Committee on Science for developing it,"Wadge added.
