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Scientific Committee Meeting - 10 February 2026

Members Present

  • Martin Cormican (Chair) (MC)
  • Alan Kelly (AK)
  • Andrew Flanagan (AF)
  • Ann Marie Part (AMP)
  • Anne Molloy (AM)
  • Dagmar Stengel (DS)
  • Dolores O’Riordan (DOR)
  • Geraldine Duffy (GD)
  • Ita Kinahan (IK)
  • Kevin Cashman (KC)
  • Lois O’Connor (LOC)
  • Mark Fenelon (MF)
  • Montserrat Gutierrez (MG)
  • Séamus Fanning (SF)

FSAI Staff Present

  • Wayne Anderson (WA)
  • Rob Phillips (RP)
  • Lisa O’Connor (LiOC)
  • Micheál O’Mahony (MOM)
  • Mary Flynn (MFl)
  • Ophelie Davies (OD)
  • Jill Murphy (JM)
  • Judith Giles (JG)

Apologies

  • Pat O’Mahony (POM)
  • Karl McDonald (KMcD)

1.    Disclosures of Interest

The Chair welcomed the members. There were no disclosures of interest.

2.    Agree the Meeting Minutes of 19 January and Matters Arising

The draft minutes were agreed and all actions were completed.

3.    Update from Chemical Safety Subcommittee

Draft report for adoption: Mitigation Measures for Dioxins & PCBs in Terrestrial Farm Animals with Access to Outdoor Pastures

There were several comments received from the members which were reviewed and addressed by AF/KMcD prior to the meeting. The remaining comments were discussed and resolved, and final editorial comments will be addressed after the meeting. AF thanked all the members for their input and suggestions.
The Chair noted that the committee agreed the report in principle subject to the final edits being made. The final version will be circulated electronically with a period of one week to be given for review and reflection, after which it can be considered adopted. The team will aim to circulate the report next Monday 16 February.

Actions:

  • KMcD to circulate the final report to the committee.

4.    Update from Food Hygiene Rating Systems Subcommittee

Draft Report: Evaluation of food hygiene rating systems and recommendations for Ireland

DOR noted that the document circulated is a first draft. She explained the background to the request for advice and noted that some limitations to the evidence have been clearly cited in the draft report. The draft was discussed and the following was noted:

  • Reference to associated improvements in microbiological parameters will not be included. Although this is referred to in some sources the evidence is not sufficiently clear as to which parameters were considered and the nature of the change.
  • The focus of Q1 is about meaningful change in food hygiene/compliance practices and the answer should therefore focus on that question.
  • Noted that it is valuable to reference the evidence available on public health outcomes associated with implementation of a FHRS, although the RfA does not reference this outcome and it need not be included in the answers to the RfA or in the conclusions.
  • Agreed that the evidence on public health outcomes would be consolidated into one section.
  • Consumer reaction to food hygiene rating systems is positive. There is good evidence to show consumers value them. It is also helpful to have ratings available for online purchases.
  • There is good evidence available about best practices and lessons learned. Text was included in the report about countries who did not to implement a FHRS. In some cases, FHRS have been introduced but published evidence of review and evaluation over the long term is lacking. The UK system is continuously evaluated and shows the value of this.
  • FHRS improve compliance and increase transparency and consumer awareness.
  • The report will not include recommendations as this is not required by the RfA.

The Chair said that the aim will be to circulate the next draft of the report by lunchtime on Friday, in advance of next week’s meeting. He asked the members to review the detail of the answers to the questions. DOR thanked FSAI staff in particular for all their assistance in getting the report to this stage.

Actions:

  • RP to circulate the report by Friday.

5.    Work Plan

The work plan was not discussed.

6.    Correspondence/AOB

There was no correspondence received or further business discussed.

7.    Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for 17 February. The Chair thanked FSAI staff, the subcommittees and working groups for all their work on completing the reports.