National Food Surveillance

As part of their responsibility for verifying that the relevant requirements of food law are are fulfilled by business operators at all stages of production, processing and distribution, The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Official Food Control Agencies carry out surveillance of food on the Irish market. Surveillance involves the sampling and testing of foods.

Food samples are taken by food law enforcement officers and sent to food control laboratories funded by the State. The majority of surveillance occurs by this route. Samples can be taken at the time of inspection of a food business or taken randomly at retail or wholesale level. Samples can also be taken on foot of a food complaint or to support an outbreak investigation. The food control laboratories communicate the results of these tests to the enforcement officer who takes appropriate action and also to the FSAI that formulates a national picture of food controls and communicates this to the European Commission.

Last reviewed: 19/3/2009