During the 1990s, food safety problems became high-profile issues for the UK government. At first addressed on an ad hoc basis under the leadership of the MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food), they led to the reorganization of the system of food risk management in the country, notably with the creation of the Food Standards Agency. This paper attempts to explain the process of change and to assess its significance. I argue that by having a distinct institutional setting and new principles, the FSA significantly altered the decision-making framework in which policies are made. The way in which it has impacted policy content remains a matter for further inquiry.