Food Safety laws are intended to:
- Eliminate the risk of food poisoning and food borne diseases thus protecting the public health arising out of consumption of food.
- Enforcement is to ensure the law is complied with.
Food law in Ireland dates back to the early 1800's and has been continually augmented and amended over the years. Today, most if not all of our national food legislation derives from Ireland's membership of the European Union. The negotiation of these laws and the responsibility to give legal effect to the decisions, directives and regulations agreed in Brussels rests with several Government Departments.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is the single, regulatory authority with responsibility for the enforcement of food safety legislation in Ireland. This responsibility for enforcement is managed through a series of service contracts with official agencies.
Ireland's food code is considerable in volume and ever evolving and consists of the various acts, regulations and orders made at national level as well as those directives and regulations made at EU level.
