Choose a year to see monitoring and surveillance reports for that year:
2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001
The national microbiological monitoring and surveillance programme is developed by the FSAI, the Environmental Health Service and the Food Microbiology Laboratories of the HSE. Occasionally, other official agencies of the FSAI are also involved. Each year’s programme is finalised in the latter half of the preceding year.
The aims of the national microbiological surveillance programme are to:
- Obtain a national picture on the microbiological safety of high-risk foods
- Obtain a national picture on specific food handling/food hygiene practices
- Monitor microbiological trends by designing new surveys to build on existing data
- Determine the true microbiological quality of a foodstuff by utilising the randomness of survey sampling.
The data generated from these surveys highlight areas of public health significance concerning food safety. Where a foodstuff is deemed unsafe, appropriate action is taken immediately by the relevant sampling officer. Furthermore, the necessity to publish recommendations/guidance based on the national findings is considered by the FSAI. Where the results of the surveys generate satisfactory results, resources (sampling and analysis) are redirected to other high-risk foods.