Food Standards Scotland is pleased to welcome four new board members who will contribute to the organization’s goal of protecting consumers from food safety risks while promoting healthy eating. The new board members include Christina Bichan, Dr. Paula Charlesworth, Phillip Couser, and Kate Richards, all of whom will serve for a four-year term. Mr. Couser began his role on November 14, 2022, whereas Mrs. Bichan, Dr. Charlesworth, and Miss Richards commenced their appointments in April 2023.
During the April board meeting, Alban Denton was appointed as the deputy chair for a two-year term. Alban Denton, who has been involved in many of Scotland’s food businesses over the past 30 years, will be instrumental in driving the organization’s goals forward.
Phillip Couser MBE is one of the new Food Standards Scotland board members. Phillip has held senior positions in the NHS in Scotland since 2013 and currently serves as a non-executive director on the Board of NHS Lanarkshire. He was appointed as the director of data-driven public health innovation in Public Health Scotland (PHS) upon its formation in 2020. Before retiring from this role in July 2021, he led PHS’s initial data and digital contribution to the pandemic response. Through his work overseeing Health Protection Scotland, he is already very familiar with much of the work of Food Standards Scotland.
Christina Bichan, one of the newly appointed board members, has over 20 years of experience in the public sector, working both in a remote and rural island location and at a national level. With a Masters degree in Public Health and experience in leading performance, planning, quality improvement, and governance functions within the NHS, Christina is based in Orkney and involved in a family-owned food business. Her interest lies in protecting and improving people’s health and wellbeing and in the sustainability of remote and rural communities.
Kate Richards is another new Food Standards Scotland board member. Kate has extensive experience in agriculture and food production in the public and private sectors. She was a farm vet in Aberdeenshire and provided advice on livestock health to the UK subsidiary of a global pharmaceutical company before joining Defra as a farm animal welfare veterinary advisor. Kate has a passion for building connections and disseminating veterinary expertise for the benefit of public, as well as animal, health, and welfare.
Dr. Paula Charlesworth, the fourth new member of the board, is a registered dietitian with a PhD in nutrition and physiology. She has worked in frontline NHS services, research, and academia and brings regulatory experience, having served terms as a professional partner for the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service, sitting on their Fitness to Practise, Investigatory Committee, and Appeals Panels.
Heather Kelman, the chair of the FSS Board, expressed her delight with the successful recruitment of the new board members. She believes that the appointment of the new board members will help shape the work of the organization as Scotland continues to feel the impacts of its departure from the EU. The new board members’ breadth of expertise will help ensure that Scottish consumers are protected during these challenging times. The four new members will bring a range of perspectives to the organization, complementing the skills and experience of the existing Board members, and filling some of the gaps that we may experience when our three founding Board members step down.
