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Members Present

  • Jamie Knox - Dr Pepper [JK] Chair
  • Alice McGlynn - Consultant [AMG]
  • Dave Lang - Craft Butchers of Ireland [DL]
  • Patrick Farrell - Keelings [PF]
  • Paula Barry Walsh - DAFM (retired) [PBW]
  • Jonathan Griffith - IHTA [JG]
  • Elaine Clohosey - BWG Foods [EC]
  • Eamonn Quinn - Kelsius [EQ]
  • Mark Christal - Enterprise Ireland [MC]
  • Annette Sweeney – TUD [AS]
  • Dermott Jewell - CAI [DJ]
  • Sorcha Kavanagh - Repak [SK]
  • Janis Morrissey - Irish Heart Foundation [JM]

Apologies

  • Catherine Morrison - BIM [CM]
  • Andrew Mahon - Bord Bia [DR]
  • Louise Reynolds - INDI [LR]
  • Conor Mulvihill - DII [CM]
  • Siobhan Murphy - HSE [SM]
  • Dale Crammond – Meat Industry IE [DC]

Absent

  • Paul McKeown - HPSC [PMK]
  • Regina Sexton - UCC [RS]
  • Adrian Cummins - RAI [AC]

FSAI staff

  • Greg Dempsey [GD]
  • Gail Carroll [GC]
  • Gerard Power [GP]
  • Jane Ryder [JR]
  • Vanessa Cooling [VC]
  • Cristina Fernandez Bugallo – remotely by virtual link [CFB]

1.    Welcome 

Before beginning the meeting Chair JK took a moment to pay respects to former FSAI colleague and FSCC participant Ray Ellard, who sadly passed away in August 2025. Council members shared memories and interactions with Ray over the years.

JK then welcomed all Council members to the meeting and read out apologies from Council members unable to attend. JK then discussed the agreed meeting agenda and requested that any additional topics to be notified under the AOB agenda item.

JK also welcomed FSAI CEO GD to the first Council meeting of his tenure. GD thanked the Council for the welcome and expressed his desire to maintain a strong and engaged relationship between the Council and the FSAI.

Actions:

  • n/a

2.    Agree minutes and actions from previous meeting – 15 May 2025

GP ran through of the minutes and actions from the previous meeting. No outstanding items noted. 
Minutes were agreed by Council with no amendments. 

Actions:

  • FSAI to upload agreed minutes to the FSAI website. 

3.    Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreaks 

RP presented to the Council on the listeriosis outbreak in Ireland throughout 2025.Within the presentation RP updated the Council on the following:

  • A timeline if the listeriosis outbreak in 2025
  • Managing listeria in Ready to Heat (RTH) foods
  • Comparison of listeria related food alerts between 2024 and 2025 to date 
  • Industry management of related recalls and examples
  • Contract manufacturing
  • How the FSAI informed consumers of recalls
  • Communications to consumers on the FSAI website

JR followed up on the update relating to communications from the FSAI with an expanded     breakdown of the activities noted from this outbreak:

  • A significant increase in consumer queries received by the FSAI Advice Line between June     and August
  • A notable increase in website views within this timeline
  • Overview of increased consumer interaction via all FSAI social media channels
  • Confirmation that 88 press queries were received by the FSAI during this time
  • Review of press coverage during this period and the estimated reach of all media related content with consumers

RP highlight the initial FSAI actions planned on foot of the incident and noted that this work will continue. This includes FSAI drafting guidelines and recommended best practice for RTH foods, with the aim to communicate this with all relevant stakeholders in October for input; Planned presentations to industry groups highlighting key learnings; Study in partnership with Safefood to understand consumer behaviour in relation to RTH meals. 

RP outlined the FSAIs ask of the food industry is:

  • Critically examine own processes and procedures and identify opportunities for improvement e.g. in HACCP/Food Safety Management systems/traceability/recall procedures
  • Engage with suppliers and customers to consider improvement opportunities 
  • Provide feedback on the FSAI revised RTH guidelines and recommendations 

JR then welcomed any views and observations from Council members. JG, PF and AMG engaged in discussion on pathogen contamination of horticultural products JG led a discussion on traceability and HACCP analysis within affected food businesses. MC reminded the Council that assistance to industry was available from Enterprise Ireland. JK closed out these discussions by informing the Council that this subject may warrant further discussion at a future meeting.

Actions:

  • n/a

4.    The Drinking Water Directive

VC joined the Council meeting to update on the - Drinking Water Directive (DWD) and the exemption that will apply from 13 January 2026 to Food Business Operators (FBOs) using water from their own private supplies, e.g. private wells. VC advised that Directive 98/83/EC has been recast by Directive (EU) 2020/2184 and is implemented in Ireland under S.I 99 of 2023. VC noted that most of the food business in Ireland source water from the public/mains supply where it is Uisce Éireann’s responsibility as a water supplier to conduct testing on the supply (source to tap) to ensure compliance with DWD requirements. A food business using its own private supply is considered a water supplier and as such has responsibility for meeting DWD requirements like any other water supplier.

VC provided an overview of the FBO exemption criteria as set out in Regulation 3 (3) and (4) of S.I. 99 of 2023. She explained how it will apply to a food business with its own supply, in relation to the water used for the specific purposes of the food business, where the FSAI, or an official agency of the FSAI is satisfied that: 
“(i) the quality of the water supply cannot affect the safety of the foodstuff in its finished form, and
(ii) the water supply of the food business complies with relevant obligations, under the procedures on hazard analysis and critical control point principles, where applicable, and remedial actions under relevant legislation on food.”

VC noted that a food business operator who supplies drinking water from their own supply, e.g. private well to staff and/or patrons, e.g. in a canteen or restaurant, is not eligible for exemption as they are supplying water as part of a commercial activity. A food business with its own water supply who is not eligible for exemption will have to comply with DWD water supplier requirements including risk assessment and risk management of the private supply along with operational monitoring and source protection obligations.

VC concluded the presentation by confirming that information would be uploaded to the FSAI website once finalised and encouraged Council Members to disseminate this information to industry colleagues once it shared with them. A brief discussion followed among Council members wherein PF stressed the importance to raise awareness of the DWD requirements within the Horticulture sector in Ireland and the importance of the proposed checks that will accompany verification of compliance. Council members also discussed the implementation, testing and cost for FBOs that may arise from the DWD. 

Actions:

  • Future updates to DWD information on the FSAI website and/or social media updates to be advised to Council

5.    FSCC Topic Discussion: Food Safety Culture

CFB joined the meeting via Microsoft Teams to provide an update of the impending Food Safety Guidance Note due for completion soon, as part of a national working group formed by representatives from different official agencies. The aim of this Guidance Note is to provide clear, practical guidance to FBOs on implements an effective food safety culture and to assist official agencies in incorporating such assessments into their official controls. 

During the presentation CFB elaborated on the agreed five principles of food safety culture that will form the backbone of guidance to industry:

  • Management commitment and leadership
  • Communication and awareness
  • Employee engagement
  • Maintaining and verification
  • Continuous improvement and compliance 

CFB then discussed aspects included in the guidance that may assist FBOs in implementing an effective food safety culture including standardised assessment, targeted interventions, comprehensive evidence gathering and an initiative-taking approach. CFB confirmed the final guidance note would be published in a few weeks and the FSAI will notify members when it becomes available. AS complimented the contents, noting that employee engagement would figure so highly. JG followed up to echo importance of a strong food safety culture within all food businesses. JM asked if any other input was sought while drafting the contents, CFB confirmed that SafeFood were involved.

JR advised the Council that the FSAI would be hosting an online Breakfast Bite session for stakeholders on 09 October 2025 and encouraged members to share details of this FSAI event throughout industry if possible. AS queried if a recording of the event would be made available afterwards, JR confirmed that it would. 

Actions:

  • Guidance Note to be circulated to FSCC upon completion
  • GP to share link to FSAI Break Bite session on 09 October 2025 to FSCC

6.    FSCC Subgroup on Food Hygiene Rating Schemes (FHRS) 

PBW and GC provided the Council with an update on recent FSCC subgroup activity around their work to explore the possible implementation of a FHRS in Ireland. GC advised that the public consultation run by the FSAI via the website from 26 May until 23 June 2025 had amassed 565 responses which was a great level of response with a lot of detail provided by many respondents which will be taken into consideration for the analysis stage. Behavioural Analysist Kristin Anderson is currently working with the FSAI to analyse all of this received feedback and will draft an update to share with the FSCC at a future meeting. PBW advised that the FSCC subgroup will draft a final report to present to the Council for review, discussion and approval once completed. GC reminded the Council that any implementation decision will ultimately be made by the Department of Health. GC also praised the engaged responses received from stakeholders throughout the consultation process. 

Actions:

A final draft to be presented to the Council at a future meeting

7.    FSAI Updates

FSAI update report to the FSCC

GC provided an overview of the update report shared with the Council in the lead up to the meeting. Updates were provided on the following topics:

  • UK flour scheduled to be fortified with Folic Acid from 13 December 2026
  • The case of a recent breach of a closure order by a FBO in Ireland
  • Recent food safety advocacy by FSAI
  • FSAI enforcement orders for May, June, and July 2025
  • Links to all FSAI publications launched since the previous meeting
  • A reminder of the published FSAI annual report for 2024
  • Recent work of the Scientific Committee
  • Updates on recent food industry training conducted by the FSAI
  • JR gave an overview of all recent social media campaign and updates launched by the FSAI

The 2026 FSCC Open Meeting

GC advised that a topic for the 2026 FSCC open meeting would have to be agreed soon so that preparation work could begin within the FSAI. There followed a discussion among the Council led by JK, in which it emerged that a potential topic for consideration might be around misinformation and disinformation in the food system in Ireland. Council members agreed this topic might make for a very engaged and topical discussion with all stakeholders. 

GP advised that no proposed date for the open meeting has been agreed yet, but that it would take place in February or March of 2026. Once this date is confirmed Council members will be sent invitations. An agreed venue for the meeting will also be included within the invitations. 

2026 FSCC Workplan

GC and GP went through the recent range of topics covered at Council meetings and advised the Council that a new workplan would be needed for the next 3-year period. It was agreed that enough topics should be included to allow for a three-year plan covering potential Council topic discussion for consideration from 2026 until 2029. GP advised the Council that suggestions on potential topics for discussion at FSCC meetings would also be sought from the FSAI Board and Executive. GP will also email Council members seeking their suggested topics, from which a main list will be circulated to the Council for their vote. The aim is to draft a ranked top ten list from these collated suggestions and provide guidance on topics for discussion at future meetings.

Actions:

  • GP to send 2026 open meeting invitations to Council once date has been agreed
  • FSCC members to provide potential speakers for the 2026 open meeting 
  • GP to seek workplan topics for consideration from the FSAI Board, Executive & FSCC members and send voting options to the FSCC once collected 

8.    AOB

The next meeting of the FSCC is scheduled for 05 December 2025. This will be a virtual meeting held online via Microsoft Teams. 

Actions:

  • GP to circulate reminder invite to Council members for the 05 December 2025 meeting