The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has just released its annual report outlining its key activities for 2016 which highlight the significant outputs delivered across its core regulatory functions to protect public health in relation to food.
The key highlights and achievements in 2016 include:
- 39 food alerts issued which is the highest number of food alerts in ten years. They resulted in product recalls or withdrawals from the Irish market for a range of reasons including presence of foreign bodies, pathogens or chemical contamination
- 28 food allergen alerts were issued. In Ireland, milk, soybeans, eggs and nuts were the most common allergens incorrectly labelled or declared in 2016
- Some 49,404 food businesses were under the supervision of official agencies under service contract to the FSAI, representing a small (0.65%) increases since 2015
- 106 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses for breach in food safety legislation
- The Advice Line handled 10,497 queries from a wide range of requesters, including consumers; people working in the food service sector; manufacturers; retailers; researchers and consultants. Of these, 3,202 related to complaints by consumers in relation to food, food premises and/or food labelling
- 2,625 food supplements were assessed for safety and health claims
- The FSAI orchestrates and oversees sampling and testing of foodstuffs for compliance with all aspects of food legislation. Over 56,588 samples were sampled and tested in 2016
- 166 risk assessments were carried out providing scientific basis to underpin risk management decisions
- 34 suspected breaches of food law and food fraud were investigated