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This study examines low-income households’ experiences of food support and their views on the Cash-First approach, a key Scottish Government strategy to reduce reliance on food banks. All respondents are from low-income households (≤£20,000), making them the group most likely to use food aid and cash-based support. Using survey data from 1,019 participants, the findings show low awareness of Cash-First but strong preferences for flexible, accessible schemes delivered via bank transfers that cover broader living costs. Respondents value combining cash with support services. While promising, improving awareness, access, and sustainable funding is essential to maximise impact.

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Authors: Peter M. Hollingsworth, David O’Brien and Rob Ogden.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, The University of Edinburgh

Genetic diversity is of fundamental importance for species to survive and thrive and represents a source 
of useful genes and gene products which can provide direct benefits to society. However, developing 
internationally applicable, cost-effective, and robust methods for monitoring and conserving genetic 
diversity has proved challenging. In this project we build on our past work to produce an internationally 
applicable Genetic Scorecard as a tool for monitoring and conserving genetic diversity.

Link to NatureScot Genetic Scorecard site - https://www.nature.scot/information-hub/indicators-trends/genetic-scorecard-indicator

Report prepared by SEFARI Fellows David Cooke and Eulyn Pagaling 
The James Hutton Institute

Environmental DNA (eDNA) and other biomolecules offer Scotland the ability to assess biodiversity (through species detection) and environmental condition more efficiently and comprehensively than many traditional survey methods. Uptake across the UK, EU, and wider international community is accelerating, and Scotland should capitalise on this to advance the effective implementation of these methods for a range of applications. 

Case Study: eDNA: A Smarter Way to Track Scotland’s Environment | SEFARI

For more information visit the research page here: Evaluation and mitigation of mycotoxin contamination across the Scottish cereal supply chain to assess human exposure and inform risk analysis | SEFARI

The European Commission recently introduced maximum levels (ML) for the mycotoxins T-2/HT-2 in cereals and occurrence data are now needed to inform risk assessments on UK and European level. This study surveyed the occurrence of T-2 and HT-2, and co-occurrence with other mycotoxins, in oat-based food products.

From UK purchase data, the most-purchased individual food items for food categories oat biscuits (n=11), granola & muesli (n=10) and oatcakes (n=11) were identified, purchased and analysed for 20 mycotoxins using two different LC-MS/MS approaches.

T-2 and HT-2 were the most prevalent mycotoxins, found in 5/11 and 6/11 oat biscuit samples, 6/10 and 6/10 granola & muesli samples and 10/11 and 10/11 oatcake samples. The modified mycotoxin HT-2-glucoside commonly co-occurred in 10/32 oat food samples, while T-2-glucoside was not detected.

Overall, 3/32 oat food samples were contaminated at levels potentially exceeding the EC maximum levels for T-2+HT-2 and further confirmation by an accredited mycotoxin testing facility would be prudent to inform conclusions.

Future work needs to target farm-level interventions to support growers and reduce mycotoxin contamination in the cereal supply chain. 
 

Centre: Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (CKEI, known as SEFARI Gateway)
 

Lead: Professor Charles Bestwick 

Compiled by Ioanna Akoumianaki
 

Title of Impact Case Study:  Using SEFARI Gateway research in natural capital, agriculture, food systems, biodiversity and the rural economy during 2022–2027: Impact from two flagship projects

Flagship project 1: Estimating the health and welling value of the natural capital of the NHS estates

Flagship project 2: Genetic Diversity Scorecard update
 

An Interview with Dr Alison Karley
This interview was held on 11 March 2025

Dr Alison (‘Ali’) Karley (AK) is a researcher in the Agroecology Group at the James Hutton Institute, now Head of the Ecological Sciences department. She contributed to the SEFARI Gateway-funded project Roadmap for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Scottish Potato Crop, working alongside colleagues from Scottish Rural College (SRUC). The project produced a phased roadmap for reducing emissions from one of Scotland’s most economically important crops.

Dr Ioanna Akoumianaki (IA), Policy and Impact Officer at SEFARI Gateway, James Hutton Institute, spoke with Ali about what the roadmap revealed, the synergies it surfaced between pest and disease management and carbon reduction, and the directions that could carry this work forward.
 

An Interview with Dr David Boldrin
This interview was held on 12 March 2025

Dr David Boldrin (DB) is a physical scientist at the James Hutton Institute. David together with Dr Alison Karley, also based at the James Hutton Institute, Katrina Cuthbertson and Linda Birrell (Bertha Park High School, Perth), and Maxine Scott (Skills Development Scotland) joined forces to engage young people through an empowering, participatory approach. Together, they helped a generation that needs to make future-proof career decisions begin to map out, on paper, the pathway that fits them. The SEFARI Gateway Innovative Knowledge Exchange Fund supported this unique pilot in participative knowledge exchange.
 

Dr Ioanna Akoumianaki (IA), Policy and Impact Officer at SEFARI Gateway, James Hutton Institute, spoke with David about the project's origins, methods, and real-world impact.
 

Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 14th July 2026

For more information on this role please see the following link: Chief Scientific Adviser for Food Standards Scotland - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK

Location
Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow

About the job
 

Job summary
Are you the scientific leader who can help shape Scotland’s food safety future?

Applications are invited from suitably qualified, accomplished scientists for this 2-5 year secondment opportunity as Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Food Standards Scotland (FSS).  

Job description
The CSA for FSS will be a senior, independent Scientific Adviser, who will advise FSS’s CEO and Board on all scientific matters relating to the organisation’s statutory responsibilities and the delivery of its strategic objectives. FSS’s CSA will provide strategic science leadership for FSS; supporting its senior scientists in the provision of expert oversight and assurance for all of the organisation’s research, surveillance, monitoring and risk assessment functions; ensuring the evidence base used to underpin policy on food safety and public health nutrition is robust and delivers maximum impact. In line with other CSA roles across government, it will provide an independent challenge function to FSS, helping to further embed scientific evidence at the centre of policy development and decision-making across the organisation.

FSS’s CSA is an outward facing role, with responsibility for representing FSS’s use of science and evidence to key stakeholders, the media and public, including during incidents. It will promote and champion the work of FSS’s scientists; supporting learning and development and driving engagement across the wider scientific community and the food industry, to maintain and strengthen FSS’s reputation as a highly regarded science and evidence-based organisation.

The CSA for FSS will contribute to the existing network of independent scientific advisers in Scottish Government to support the CSA for Scotland in ensuring that there are mechanisms in place to ensure policy making in Scotland is underpinned by the best science available. The post will work particularly closely with the Scottish Government’s CSA for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) to promote the use of systems thinking and evidence that enables policy makers to understand the interactions and trade-offs between food chain sustainability and resilience, food security, dietary health and food safety in Scotland. It will also collaborate with the Food Standards Agency’s CSA in areas of shared policy responsibility and scientific interest to ensure co-ordination and alignment across the UK in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the development and delivery of FSS’s Food and Health Research Programme and Digital and Data Strategy; ensuring a strategic and co-ordinated approach to the identification and prioritisation of evidence needs, and promoting the responsible sharing and linkage of FSS data to maximise its value across the wider food and public health landscape.
• Provide strategic scientific leadership across FSS by offering expert advice and constructive challenge to staff, the Corporate Leadership Team, and the FSS Board on the generation, analysis and use of data and evidence to inform risk assessment, incident response, and the development of policies related to food safety and public health nutrition. 
• Contribute to corporate leadership by ensuring robust science governance, supporting FSS scientists to provide the CEO and Board with assurance on the quality and cost-effectiveness of research and the processes used to commission and publish it. Work collaboratively with science and communications teams to ensure scientific outputs are accessible and effectively translated into advice for policymakers, stakeholders and consumers.
• Build impactful networks with the CSA for Scotland, Scottish Government’s portfolio CSAs (ENRA, Health and Marine), Public Health Scotland, and other government experts on public health and food; ensuring science priorities on food safety and dietary health in Scotland are understood across Government. Support a co-ordinated, systems thinking approach to the use of science in policy development, taking account of FSS strategy, the objectives of Good Food Nation, and wider strategies relating to population health, trade, food security/resilience and climate change adaptation in Scotland.
• Develop a strong working relationship with the Food Standards Agency’s CSA; engaging with them regularly to maintain an up to date awareness of respective priorities, science activities and resourcing issues, and ensure science aspects of our Memorandum of Understanding are kept under review, including FSS’s ability to access to UK Scientific Advisory Committees and specialist expertise in FSA for the best available scientific advice to inform policy development in Scotland.
• Maintain an up-to-date awareness of all research activities relating to food and diet in Scotland and across the UK. Work with the CSA (ENRA) to ensure FSS funded projects and relevant work delivered through Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Programme on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture are effectively targeted at addressing key public health and food policy objectives, and that duplication is minimised. 
• Advise the CEO on relevant workforce and resourcing strategy for science in FSS, ensuring that the delivery of science advice is underpinned by appropriately qualified staff with the right mix of skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver FSS objectives. Work with the CSA, Scotland and the Head of Professional Development for Science in Scottish Government to enable consideration of appropriate career pathways and professional development schemes for scientists in FSS and other areas of food policy in Scotland.
• Act as a spokesperson for FSS on high profile scientific issues relating to food safety and public health nutrition; ensuring the scientific basis for decisions on policy, advice and actions is effectively communicated to different expert and lay audiences through a range of channels, including the media.
• Establish an impactful profile across the relevant UK and international scientific communities; and when required represent FSS and Scottish Government at delegations and conferences to promote and champion our research and science capabilities on the global arena.

• The CSA for FSS will be the nominal Head of Profession (Science and Engineering) for the organisation supported in this role by the Head of Science and Chief Nutritionist.  

   

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £93,667, Scottish Government contributes £27,135 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
 

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

How to apply

Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement of no more than 1,000 words that directly addresses the Qualification and Professional Experience criteria listed in the Success Profile above. Your statement should clearly demonstrate how you meet the specified experience requirements, and your CV must confirm your qualifications. General or unrelated statements, or failure to evidence the required qualification criteria, may result in your application not being considered.

During the interview and assessment process we will test your Skills, Experience and Behaviours aligned to this role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If you are invited to the next stage, the assessment process will include an interview with a short presentation and a psychological assessment.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c’s 10 & 17 August 2026; however, this may be subject to change.

The Final Interview Panel will take place on Thursday 27th August 2026, in person at Pilgrim House, Old Ford Road, Aberdeen, AB11 5RL. The current Hiring Manager for this role is the Chief Executive of FSS, Geoff Ogle. Geoff is due to retire in August 2026, and a recruitment campaign is now underway to appoint his successor. Once the new Chief Executive is in post, they will assume responsibility for chairing the recruitment process for this role. The other panel Members are:

•    Professor Calum Semple, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland – Scottish Government  
•    Dr Jacqueline McElhiney, Head of Science Division – Food Standards Scotland 
•    Ms Dawn Davies, HR Manager – Food Standards Scotland

For more information on this role please see the following link: Chief Scientific Adviser for Food Standards Scotland - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK

This research drew up a route map to show how Scotland can reach its potential of becoming leaders in the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) and other biomolecules for environmental monitoring and assessment. Biodiversity and environmental condition can be more efficiently and comprehensively assessed using eDNA than by using many traditional methods. They offer a powerful new approach, but there is currently no fully coordinated national strategy in Scotland. The clear strategic route map outlined in this research will guide investment, coordination, and the wider use of DNA-based monitoring over the next two to 10 years, providing an opportunity for Scotland to take a leading role in the UK in this field. Realising this potential will require alignment with international developments and sustained investment in standards, infrastructure and workforce. 

^{Main image: Sampling DNA from the environment (eDNA), such as on this freshwater filter, enables downstream detection and identification of a broad range of organisms from mammals, fish, insects or microbial pests and pathogens all on the basis of their DNA barcodes. Photo credit: David Cooke, The James Hutton Institute.}