Eurospar Baltinglass joined retailing colleagues from all over Ireland recently to receive their food safety and quality awards at the Eurospar Supermarkets Retailer Forum.
The awards are assessed by the LRQA, who are a leading independent provider of accredited certification services across a broad spectrum of retailing standards, specialising in food safety. Eurospar supermarkets throughout Ireland were presented with their award in Lawlor’s Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare.
FSAI is a statutory, independent regulatory agency focused on protecting public health and consumer interests in food safety.
The overall mission of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland is to protect consumers and raise compliance through partnership, science and food law enforcement, and its vision is “safe and trustworthy food for everyone”.
As Ireland’s agri-food industry is the largest indigenous manufacturing sector and is of critical importance to the national economy, its success requires confidence and trust in the safety of food it produces. FSAI, as an independent state agency, underpins the credibility and performance of the regulatory system for the food industry in Ireland.
An Irish agency responsible for seafood safety has published its annual report, revealing the number of food safety incidents investigated in 2023.
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) was involved in 25 reports of alleged illnesses following the consumption of fishery products or live bivalve mollusks.
Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers (SFPOs) carried out 2,297 food safety official controls across 2,325 premises. Of these checks, 535 were inspections of approved establishments, and 1,553 consisted of official controls, such as checks prior to certifying a consignment of food being exported to a non-EU country and temperature and labeling checks.
Applications must be sent directly to Odgers Berndston through the link below:
• Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety Authority of Ireland (this opens in a new tab).
Closing date: 5pm, Monday 28 October 2024.
Gastrointestinal complaints were the most common health issue reported by people going abroad who took part in a survey on travel-related illnesses.
The study was based on data from a mobile application developed by researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) with the World Health Organization (WHO).
French authorities have again reported hundreds of poisonings linked to wild mushroom consumption.
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) said more than 400 cases had been recorded since July. Figures from the Directorate General of Health (DGS) put the number of people affected at 1,179 since the beginning of July. This includes 32 serious cases of mushroom poisoning.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has a history of strong engagement with industry through its well-established Retail, Food Service, Artisan, and Molluscan Shellfish Safety Committee Fora, which provide platforms to build firm connections and enable timely information exchange to stay abreast of evolving regulatory affairs. Due to the rapid expansion of the food industry’s eCommerce landscape, the FSAI has recently established a new industry liaison group, the ‘eCommerce and Online Food Business Forum’. We are looking to receive expressions of interest from representatives in suitable organisations in this sector to participate in the newly formed Forum.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have called on government to work with regulators to address the ongoing shortages of key professionals in the food system.
The potential impacts of these shortages are highlighted in their annual ‘Our Food’ report, which is an evidence based assessment of food standards across the UK for 2023.
The consultation comes after extensive engagement with consumers, local authorities and industry, along with evidence from research (Opens in a new window) to better understand how food businesses could improve written information for consumers with a food hypersensitivity.
In current law, food businesses such as restaurants, cafes and canteens, are required to tell customers if the food they are serving contains any of the 14 mandatory allergens, choosing how they provide this information whether in writing or verbally.
A new report by EFSA’s partners in the NAMs4NANO project proposes a system for promoting New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to assess the potential food safety risks of nanoparticles.
Germany has been hit hardest in a multi-country Salmonella outbreak linked to rocket from Italy.
As of late September, there are 98 cases in Germany. The Robert Koch Institut (RKI) believes this number may go up. There are 16 patients in Austria and 23 in Denmark.
The first cases were reported in Germany at the end of July. Since the beginning of August, there has been a significant increase in patients, with 16 to 18 cases per week. All federal states except Bremen and Saarland are affected.
Fraud and non-compliance issues discussed in August by European countries were at their lowest level since reporting began in early 2024.
The number of food and other fraud suspicions raised by EU member states declined in August. The 222 alerts are down from 325 in July, 265 in June, 281 in May, 341 in April, 345 in March, and 318 in February. There were 277 in January.
The European Commission (EC) has extended the deadline for its call for the next Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Eligible candidates are invited to apply by 11 October 2024.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), working with Food Standards Scotland (FSS), is leading an investigation into the food supply chain of mustard ingredients which may have been contaminated with peanuts.
An analysis by the European Commission has found national authorities are largely doing enough to ensure companies are complying with the rules, but there are areas for improvement.
A report covers data submitted by European countries on their official controls and related EU Commission activities in 2022.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has been involved in four E. coli outbreak investigations so far this year in the United Kingdom.
A Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O145 outbreak was linked to unpasteurized milk cheese produced by Mrs. Kirkham’s in Lancashire. APHA contributed to the incident management team investigation, including an advisory visit and epidemiologically relevant sampling.
Today, the European Commission published its 2023 report on the Alert and Cooperation Network, which facilitates cooperation and information exchange between Member States on official controls in the agri-food chain. The report reveals a significant increase in notifications compared to 2022 – a sign of the growth in cooperation between Member States in this area.
The Alert and Cooperation Network is composed of four sub-networks, each with an individual focus.
Pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables are the top food safety fear among consumers in five countries.
Scientists from the not-for-profit group CABI used survey data from 8,644 people in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, and Uganda. They assessed concerns about food safety risks, attitudes toward pesticide use in fruit and vegetable production, and how pesticide concerns and socioeconomic factors affect outlet choices.
Scientists have revealed that lettuce contaminated by animal waste during flooding was the likely vehicle of infection in an E. coli outbreak in 2022.
In September 2022, a large outbreak of STEC O157:H7 was identified in the United Kingdom. It was one of the biggest E. coli outbreaks since the early 1980s.
In late August and early September, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) reported a substantial increase in submitting certain fecal samples and isolates that were presumptive for STEC.
Finland’s pig Salmonella control program helps to protect consumers but there is room for improvement, according to an assessment.
Ruokavirasto (The Finnish Food Authority) evaluated the public health and cost effects of the national Salmonella control program for pigs.
