FSAI lays down 'national road map' for consumer safety

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has launched a new strategy for consumer safety which, it says, is a “clear roadmap with benchmarks for achievement to further protect consumers of Irish food”.

The new ‘Strategy 2019-2023’ was released today (Tuesday, February 5) to coincide with the FSAI’s 20th anniversary, and aims to increase legal compliance among Irish food businesses through collaboration and using the best science and evidence, the statutory body said.

The strategy outlines four goals that the FSAI is seeking to achieve: enforcement and compliance; science, expertise and evidence; engagement and communication; and organisational excellence.

In a summery of the plan, the FSAI describes the four goals in more detail; the first stepping stone is to “enforce food law and increase compliance…through a world class food control system”.

Secondly, the body claims that the plan will “advance food safety and integrity through independent science, expertise and a strong evidence base”.

The other goals of the strategy will look to make Ireland a leader in food safety, and to empower people to maximise the impact of food safety policies.

Also today, the FSAI released the results of its November 2018 ‘national attitudinal research’ study, which showed that 89% of people here feel that Irish food is as safe or safer than it was five years ago.

However, the study also showed that Irish people tend to be slack when handling food at home, with 72% of people saying they have eaten food past the ‘use-by date’, and 62% of respondents saying they have left food out of the fridge to eat in the following days.

The figures from this research also show that one out of every 10 people eat from fast foods and takeaways at least once a week, while 84% of people said they buy ‘ready-to-eat’ food from the supermarket – over a third of whom do so once a week or more.

“How and where we get our food is constantly changing, with many factors impacting on food safety,” said Dr. Pamela Byrne, CEO of FSAI.

“Research, evidence and science are critical to deepening our knowledge of the known risks and in identifying emerging risks to food safety and integrity,” she added.