FSA chief scientist backs the ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign
The chief scientist of the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) Mr Andrew Wadge today lent his support to the ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign launched by UK non-profit organization Sense About Science.
Australian Food News yesterday reported the launch of the campaign.
Mr Wadge blogged “I support this [campaign] wholeheartedly: openness to challenge isn’t just good policy, it’s good science. Scientific understanding only moves forward by scrutiny, discussion, testing and disproof.”
He added, “at the FSA, being open, transparent and evidence-based are core principles, and I think we measure up to this challenge pretty well – but we’re always open to suggestions on how we can do better. I hope people will be inspired by this campaign”.
The ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign is a response to concerns about false and misleading claims in the public sphere, particularly in less regulated areas, such as the internet.
The campaign aims to get more people asking for evidence from those who make claims about science and medicine – companies, advertisers, campaigners, journalists and Government.
