Food Safety Law

Older Legislation

Food safety legislation seeks to protect human health and consumer interests. Irish food safety law embraces a very wide range of legislation.

The volume of legislation is very considerable and deals with every aspect of food production and manufacture. There still exists older 19th and early 20th century legislation relating to food safety and, in particular, food hygiene in relation to the production of meat, cereal and dairy products dating from the earlier years of the States’ existence. See our separate chapters on agriculture.

In addition, the health authorities, which ultimately evolved into the health boards and the Health Service Executive, administered food hygiene regulations.

Modern Legislation

Eclipsing older domestic law is an enormous volume of food safety legislation that has emanated from the European Union over the last 20 years. This is now the dominant source of Irish food safety legislation and will, in time, completely subsume the domestic legislation.

Modern food safety legislation derives from European Union regulations. Regulations have direct effects throughout the European Union. They are equivalent to Acts of the Oireachtas.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is a single regulatory body responsible for food safety legislation. It assumed the functions of the health boards and health in 1998. It contracts the provision of the services with the Health Services Executive, Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Many other aspects of foods law are derived from directives. Confusingly, in terms of terminology, new directives are enforced by domestic regulations or statutory instruments. These also have the force of law but are specific to Ireland.

See the other parts of this guide in relation to specific EU food hygiene and food safety legislation. There are numerous such piece of legislation, which will be briefly mentioned in these chapters.

EU Rules

EU regulations lay down detailed food safety rules and procedures. They establish the European Food Safety Authority.

The Irish regulations on food and feed hygiene and on general food law spell out the basic requirements of the European Union food safety law in Ireland.

The general EU regulations set out responsibilities for food and feed business operators. The primary responsibility for compliance rests with the food business operator. A food business is any business, whether operated for profit or not, whether public or private, carrying out activities at any stage in the production, processing, and distribution of food.

Food business operators at all stages of production, processing, and distribution under their control must satisfy the food requirements of food law relevant to their activity. They must verify that such requirements are met.

Food Covered

Food includes any substance or product, partly processed or unprocessed, intended to be or reasonably expected to be digested by humans. Food includes drink and water, including water, intentionally incorporated in food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment.

Food does not include the following, which are separately regulated:

• Feed;
• Live animals,
• plants prior to harvesting
• medicinal products,
• cosmetics,
• tobacco products,
• narcotics,
• residues and contaminants.

Key Principles

The regulations provide rules for food business operators and the hygiene of foodstuffs taking particular account of the following principles:

• Primary responsibility for food safety rests with the food business operator;
• It is necessary to ensure food safety throughout the food chain from primary production to the consumption;
• It is important that where food cannot be stored safely at ambient temperatures particularly frozen food, to maintain the cold chain;
• General implementation of procedures based on HACCP principles together with the application of good food hygiene practices should reinforce food business operators’ responsibility;
• Guides to good practice are a valuable instrument to assist food business operators at all levels in the food chain in relation to compliance with food hygiene regulations and the application of HACCP principles;
• It is necessary to establish microbiological criteria and temperature
• control requirements based on scientific risk assessment.

Application

The EU regulations apply to all stages of production, processing and distribution without prejudice to the more specific rules that apply in numerous instances.

The EU rules do not apply to

• primary production for domestic use;
• domestic preparation, handling and storage of food for private domestic consumption;
• direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer;
• collection centers and tanneries which fall within the definition of food business only because they handle material for the production of gelatin or collagen.

General Hygiene Provisions

The annexe to the EU regulations set out the general hygiene provisions for primary production and associated operations. It provides the general hygiene requirements of all business operators, including:

• general requirements for food premises,
• specific requirements in rooms where foodstuffs are prepared, treated or processed;
• requirements for movable or temporary premises such as market stalls, sales vehicles, premises primarily used a dwelling house but where food is regularly prepared for placing in the market and vending machines;
• transport and conveyance used for transporting foodstuffs;
• equipment with which food comes into contact;
• food waste;
• water supply;
• provisions in relation to wrapping and packaging;
• provisions applicable to foodstuffs.

Persons Handling Food

Food business operators must ensure that food handlers are supervised and instructed in food hygiene matters proportionate to their work activity. They must ensure that those responsible for the development and maintenance of the procedure required by legislation have received adequate training in the application of the HACCP principle. They must ensure compliance with any requirements of national law regarding training for persons in the food sector.

Every person working in food handling must maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and hygiene. They must wear suitable, clean and, where necessary, protective clothing.

No person suffering from or carrying a disease likely to be transmitted through food may be allowed to handle food or enter a food handling area if there is any likelihood of direct or indirect contamination. Any such person is advised to immediately report illnesses and symptoms and, if possible, their causes to the food business operator.

Good Practice Guides

The National Standards Authority of Ireland publishes national standards and provides product and management system certifications. The NSAI has published national catalogues that are good guides in relation to food hygiene practices in catering, processing, and retailing in the wholesaling food industry.

This includes

• I.S. 3219:1990 Code of Practice for Hygiene in the Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry;
• I.S. 340:2007 Hygiene in the Catering Sector;
• I.S. 342:1997 Guide to Good Hygiene Practice for Food Processing Industry in accordance with the Council Directive on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs;
• I.S. 341:2007 Hygiene in Food Retailing and Wholesaling;
• I.S. 344:2002 Hygiene for Domestic-Scale Production;
• I.S. 22000:2005 Food Safety Management Systems, Requirements for any Organization in the Food Chain.

The above standards are not legally binding but are advised in order to comply with the general requirements in the legislation and give guidance in the respective sectors with which they deal. They are useful guides for businesses in those sectors.