The Food Safety Authority of Ireland represents Ireland on food safety issues in Europe.
Tá leagan Gaeilge den leathanach seo ar fáil anseo.
The Authority has regular contact with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The FSAI consults on and assists in the development of well founded and effective European food law, taking into account the principles of better regulation.
European and national level activities are co-ordinated by EFSA by means of close co-operation through EFSA’s Advisory Forum, National Focal Point and Scientific Committees, Panels and Networks. This structure allows Member States and EFSA to work together to exchange scientific information and data, co-ordinate work programmes, pool resources and co-operate on joint projects.
EFSA News
New EFSA editorial: Updated research and innovation needs
EFSA has published an editorial outlining research and innovation needs that can support its' regulatory science in the coming years. Omics technologies, gut microbiome, new approach methodologies, allergenicity risk assessment, aggregrate exposure assessment and environmental risk assessment are particular areas of focus.
The editorial also addresses emerging challenges and opportunities and calls for transdisciplinary research, reflecting on the interdependencies between human, animal, plant and environmental health. EFSA stakeholders, funders, and research agenda setters are encouraged to consider the editorial when formulating calls for research and project funding related to food safety.
One Health WGS System for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks
As part of the new Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/179, EU Member States will be required to collect and share analytical data in investigations of foodborne disease outbreaks. To support this, EFSA together with the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) created the 'One Health WGS System', a data analytics tool designed to gather and analyse whole-genome sequencing data.
The system consists of two interconnected platforms, one hosted by EFSA and the other by ECDC. These platforms independently collect genomic sequencing data from each sector (human health and food safety) and generate profiles for cross-sectoral analysis. This helps to identify foodborne disease outbreaks and supports real-time investigations of multi-country outbreaks.
A video released by EFSA showcases how WGS data are used to combat foodborne disease outbreaks and explains how the ‘One Health WGS system’ works.
For further information, see the topic page on EFSA's website.
Upcoming EFSA Events
Webinar: Food Enzyme Intake Model (FEIM) Tool
- Date and time: 4 June 2025, 14:00 - 18:00 and 5 June 2025, 09:00 - 13:00 (CEST)
- Location: Online
- Objective: EFSA will run two identical webinars to provide an overview of the FEIM tool and explore its features. The webinars are intended for stakeholders interested in learning how to use the FEIM tool for calculation. Participation is limited to 30 people per session and will be subject to selection by EFSA.
- Deadline for registration: 15 May 2025, 12:00 (CEST)
- Further information and registration
EFSA Grants and Procurement
EFSA regularly awards grants or subsidies for projects and activities that contribute to EFSA’s mission in the areas of data collection, preparatory work for scientific opinions, other scientific and technical assistance. Further information on EFSA Grants and EFSA Procurement.
Seconded National Experts Call 2025-2027
EFSA has launched a new call for Seconded National Experts (SNEs). As an SNE, professionals from national administrations will have the opportunity to contribute to EFSA’s work while gaining valuable expertise to bring back to their home institutions. The secondment is open to experts in various fields, from scientific risk assessment to communication and business support.
Interested professionals can read further information and apply via EFSA's website.
BfR World Food Safety Almanac
The online BfR World Food Safety Almanac provides an overview of the administrative structures of various countries in food and feed safety. It is well structured database that enables effective collaboration between organisations working in the field of food safety. Currently, there are profiles from 37 countries in the online World Food Safety Almanac.
EFSA newsletters
EFSA highlights is a free weekly e-newsletter featuring what’s new on the EFSA website.
EFSA's Understanding Science Video Clips
Understanding Science is EFSA’s scientific white board video series in which EFSA staff explain scientific concepts.