Consultative Council Meeting Minutes - 22nd September 2004
Meeting of the Food Safety Date & Venue: 22nd September 2004 FSAI, Dublin.
PRESENT
- Mr Pat Caulfield (Chairman)
- Mr Sean Conlon
- Ms Anne Marie Crowley
- Ms Breda Naughton
- Mr Pat Keogh
- Ms. Margaret Leahy
- Mr. Kevin Moyles
- Mrs Ann McGarry
- Mr. Martin Mullane
- Ms. Fiona Lalor
- Mr William Kingston
- Ms Veronica Campbell
- Ms Darina Allen
APOLOGIES
- Mr Dermott Jewell
- Ms Breda Raggett
- Mr Jamie Conlon
- Ms Brid O'Connor
- Ms Paula Mee
- Mr.Larry Murrin
- Ms Anne Quirke
- Mr Pat Moynihan
- Mr John Power
FSAI Secretariat
- Mr Raymond Ellard
- Ms Eileen Lippert
Other FSAI Staff in Attendance
- Dr John O'Brien
- Dr Wayne Anderson
1 Approval of the Agenda
The provisional agenda was accepted.
2 Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes of the last meeting held in 2004 were agreed. Members requested that the minutes should be checked to ensure that there are no grammatical errors in the text before they are posted on the FSAI website. Members also requested that minutes are circulated well in advance of the meetings.
3 Matters Arising
Johne's disease - Update
Attention was drawn to an article in a recent edition of The Lancet. It was agreed to circulate copies.
4 Report from Sub-groups
Annual Report Sub-group
The text was finalised by the Sub-group, who asked that the design be improved and that a format other than the one used to date be used. The printed annual report is to be available for the Open Meeting in November.
Some comments were put forward at the meeting and members were asked to send any additional comments to the FSAI within a week. The members of the Sub-group were thanked for their contribution.
Open Meeting
An update on the progress of organising the Open Meeting was given. The theme of the meeting - hygiene safety, training and enforcement in the catering sector- was discussed. A number of speakers have confirmed their participation. Some additional speakers were suggested. Fiona Lalor agreed to liaise with Veronica Campbell regarding some of the speakers.
The meeting is to be publicised locally rather than in the national press. It was agreed that the FSAI will have an information stand at the meeting. Information pertaining to food safety and hygiene, relevant to the local and surrounding areas should be available from the stand.
Market Research
The Chair of this Sub-group will formulate a proposal based on discussions during previous meetings and a meeting of the Sub-group will be arranged for sometime in October or on the eve of the Open Meeting in Galway .
5 Dr John O'Brien
The members were introduced to Dr John O'Brien, the newly appointed CEO of the Authority, who outlined his working background. The members expressed a desire for more formal engagement with the Board and Executive of the FSAI and for a formal response from the Authority in relation to matters raised by the Council. A discussion on the work of the Council took place. A number of suggestions on priority issues for the FSAI were made by the Council. These included:
- a national risk assessment on food safety
- raising awareness of the need for improvements to the standard of the public water supplies
6. Update of the Obesity Task Force
A progress report on the Obesity Task Force was given by Wayne Anderson of the FSAI who is s involved with the private industry Sub-group. Some of the main points raised by this sector included:
- Lack of exercise, especially at schools.
- Portion sizes.
- Vending machines in schools.
- Dept of Education not on the Task Force.
- The 'Traffic Light' system in operation in the UK.
It is acknowledged that it is a very complex issue. The consultation process is now finished and the Task Force is now concentrating on strategy.
7. Update on Meeting with Minister of State
A report of the meeting on the 1 st July between the Minister for State at the Department of Health and Children and the Chair of the Council was provided by Raymond Ellard. Matters discussed included, food safety prior to the farm gate, water quality, food supplements, table top sweeteners, GMOs and the report of the Enterprise Strategy Group. The Minister indicated that he may wish to meet again in October or November.
8. Review of the Terms of Reference and Objectives of the FSCC
The purpose of this agenda item was clarified by the Chair and members were asked to express their comments. Some of the issues raised included:
- The relationship between the FSAI Board and the Council.
- What happens when the Council, Scientific Committee and/or the Board have differing views and opinions?
- Meeting attendance and frequency of meetings.
- A mechanism for a formal response from the FSAI in relation to matter raised by the Council
- The focus for the remainder of the Council's term of office
The Council agreed that a working group (WG) should be formed to discuss the points raised above, amongst others, such as structural issues, the agenda, the parking of issues and benchmarking. The following have volunteered to be on the WG:
- Margaret Leahy
- Kevin Moyles
- Veronica Campbell
- Martin Mullane
- Darina Allen
- Pat Caulfield
The group will meet as necessary before the Open Meeting in November. The first meeting will take place on 7 th October and Raymond Ellard will prepare a status report on the agenda items in advance of this meeting. The group will also convene at 09:30 on the 16 th November in Galway .
9. DAF Consumer Liaison Panel Market Research
Copies of this survey were circulated to members at a previous meeting but time constraints meant that the issue had to be carried forward to this meeting. Raymond Ellard summarised the main issues covered and this led to a discussion on labelling. As a result of this discussion, the members requested a breakdown of the amount of calls which the FSAI receives on the matter over recent months.
10. FSAI Service Plan
This document was circulated at a previous meeting and the members were asked to peruse it and to comment on it. It was acknowledged that the plan was comprehensive and detailed.
11. Pesticides Control in Ireland - Presentation from Eibhlin O'Leary
Ms. Eibhlin O'Leary, a Service Contracts Manager at the FSAI gave a presentation about pesticide controls in Ireland detailing such issues are the range of products tested, range of pesticides, annual monitoring programme, the report of the Food and Veterinary Office and future developments. A question and answer session followed the presentation. A copy of an FVO mission report was distributed to the members for information. While the members expressed satisfaction with the current monitoring programme, they did agree that increasing the number of samples and the range of pesticides would be worthwhile to improve consumer confidence.
12. Who Does What in Europe - Presentation from Raymond Ellard
Raymond Ellard made a brief presentation on the roles and functions of the various European Institutions involved in the development of food legislation.
13. FSPB Media Campaign and Market Research
The FSPB has concluded its current survey but it will be starting another one in December 2004 and the FSCC may compile some questions for inclusion in the survey.
14. AOB
The members requested that the Secretariat send out all papers related to a meeting to the members at least five working days in advance of a meeting. This was agreed.
The issue of wild game will be a topic for another meeting and it was confirmed that there has been no change in the present legislation.
15. Next Meeting
There will be a short meeting of the Council at 19:00 on 15 th November in advance of the Open meeting which takes place on 16 th November in Galway.
Last reviewed: 11/3/2009