Safefood Explained

Agency Name:	Safefood'
Type:	Public Body
Formed:	1999
Jurisdiction:	Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland)
Headquarters:	Cork, Ireland
Chief1 Name:	Ray Dolan (CEO)

Safefood (also known as The Food Safety Promotion Board; FSPB; Irish: An Bord um Chur Chun Cinn Sabháilteachta Bia;^[1] Ulster-Scots: Tha Mait Safétie Fordèrin Boord^[2] or The Meat Sauftie Forder Buird),^[3] is the public body responsible for raising consumer awareness of issues relating to food safety and healthy eating across the island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Founded in 1999, Safefood is one of six North-South implementation bodies established jointly by the British and Irish governments under the terms of the British-Irish Agreement Act.^[4]

Safefood's headquarters are in Little Island, Cork, with a second office in Dublin City centre.

Structure

Safefood is a multi-directorate organisation. The chief executive is guided by a twelve-member Advisory Board and a thirteen-member Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), and takes policy direction from the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC).

Function

Its functions, as proscribed in law (British Irish Agreement Act 1999, annex I, part 2),^[5] are:

• Promotion of food safety
• Research into food safety
• Communication of food alerts
• Surveillance of foodborne disease
• Promotion of scientific co-operation and laboratory linkages
• Development of cost-effective facilities for specialised laboratory testing.

Activities

Safefood is a multidisciplinary organisation employing expertise in both food science and nutrition. The body's research, educational, and promotional activities center on the subjects of food safety^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} and healthy eating^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} and are delivered via media campaigns (e.g. television and radio advertisements and social media) and the publication of information resources for consumers and other stakeholders.

Examples of Safefood consumer campaigns on tackling excess weight and obesity amongst adults include Stop the Spread^[14] and Weigh-2-Live,^[15] while safefood's If you Could see the Germs Spread^[16] campaign aims to raise awareness amongst consumers of the health risks associated with poor food hygiene practices in the home.

Further reading

• Citizens' Information^[17]
• The North-South Ministerial Council^[18]

Notes and References

1. http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/web_2006_irish_report.pdf 2006 annual report in Irish
2. http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/web_2006_ulster_scots_report.pdf 2006 annual report in Ulster-Scots
3. http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/annual_report_2010_ulster_scots.pdf 2010 annual report in Ulster-Scots
4. http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/1999/a199.pdf BRITISH-IRISH AGREEMENT ACT, 1999
5. http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/1999/a199.pdf British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999
6. http://www.irishexaminer.com/EUinireland/storyexaminer.aspx?id=97673 Irish Examiner – EU in Ireland
7. News: Dirty dishcloths: E.coli found on more than a quarter of household cloths. O'Carroll. Sinead. TheJournal.ie. 2018-03-20. en.
8. http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=20893 Children seriously ill from deadly bug – irishhealth.com
9. News: Over a quarter of dishcloths contain e.coli, survey finds. 2012-03-30. 2018-03-20.
10. News: Nutritionists warn against fad diets. 2009-12-29. 2018-03-20.
11. News: Fast food meals equal whole day's calories. 2012-07-17. 2018-03-20.
12. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0228/1224312481803.html Pizzas really deliver the calories, experts warn – The Irish Times – Tue, Feb 28, 2012
13. News: Too much salt can leave more than just a bad taste – Independent.ie. Irish Independent. 2018-03-20. en.
14. http://www.nigoodfood.com/news_detail.aspx?footer=1&news_id=147 Safe food, stop the spread
15. News: Politicians lend weight to campaign. 2010-09-29. 2018-03-20.
16. http://www.waterford-today.ie/waterford-lifestyle/16219-new-safefood-research-dishes-the-dirt-on-dishcloths-16219.html Waterford Today – New safefood research 'dishes the dirt' on dishcloths
17. Web site: Safefood – the Food Safety Promotion Board. Citizensinformation.ie. citizensinformation.ie. en. 2018-03-20.
18. News: Food Safety Promotion Board. 2015-12-02. North South Ministerial Council. 2018-03-20. en.