February Enforcement Orders
By: Roisin Keane Date: March 8, 2021
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that four Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses during the month of February for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and officers of the FSAI. […]
FSAI Advice Line Received 2,772 Food Complaints in 2020
By: Roisin Keane Date: February 23, 2021
Over 2,772 consumer complaints were handled by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s (FSAI) Advice Line in 2020, with 34% of complaints relating to unfit food and 30% to poor hygiene standards. Overall, the 2020 complaints saw a decrease on the 3,460 complaints reported in 2019. The reduction in numbers largely reflects the impact of […]
Contaminated sesame seed recalls continue in Europe
By: Roisin Keane Date: February 12, 2021
European alert food system is nearing 500 reports because of the unauthorized substance ethylene oxide in products with sesame seeds. Belgium made the first alert in early September 2020 in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) concerning pesticide residues in various lots of sesame seeds from India. Three months later, most European […]
Irish survey finds rare contamination of spreads, dips
By: Roisin Keane Date: February 12, 2021
An analysis of more than 1,000 ready-to-eat (RTE) spreads and dips in Ireland has found the majority free from contamination. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) survey investigated the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli, which is an indicator of fecal contamination, in refrigerated RTE spreads and dips such as […]
Retailer pays out £31k after food prosecution
By: Roisin Keane Date: January 28, 2021
A leading discount retailer was forced to remove biscuits and cakes from shelves at hundreds of stores across the country after Swansea trading standards officers found they could put people with allergies at risk. Poundstretcher took the action after trading standards officers visited stores in Swansea and found the biscuits and cakes mainly in the […]
Food Labelling – Revision of Rules on Information Provided to Consumers
By: Roisin Keane Date: January 21, 2021
What: The European Commission has recently published its Inception Impact Assessment on the proposal for a revision of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. Why: As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted the Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. This Farm to Fork […]
Pilot Nutrivigilance System for Adverse Toxicological Events
By: Roisin Keane Date: January 19, 2021
What: A nutrivigilance system is a reporting system for adverse toxicological events that provides early signals of risk if foods or food supplements are causing harm in the community. Nutrivigilance systematically gathers food trends and risks, so that early action can be taken to help protect consumers’ health. Why: There are documented cases of adverse […]
FSAI flags food safety research priorities
By: Roisin Keane Date: January 14, 2021
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has identified emerging food safety risks, food chain vulnerability assessments and fresh produce traceability as areas for research. The agency said research is needed to address gaps in knowledge, support regulation and identify emerging issues and threats to the food system in Ireland. FSAI publishes areas of priority […]
42 Enforcement Orders Served on Food Businesses in 2020
By: Roisin Keane Date: January 8, 2021
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today stated that 42 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses for breaches in food safety legislation in 2020, a decrease of 67% in comparison to 125 Enforcement Orders served in 2019. The drop in numbers largely reflects the impact of COVID-19, where large numbers of food service […]