To highlight World Food Safety Day, The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) launched a new awareness campaign this week titled ‘See Something, Say Something’.
It seems that almost two-thirds (61%) of adults in Ireland don’t know how to make a complaint to authorities regarding unfit food or poor hygiene practices. As such, the FSAI’s campaign reminds consumers of their right to safe food.
Reporting a concern is easy and can be done via the FSAI website by completing a simple online complaint form to report a food business or food product.
FSAI Chief Executive Dr Pamela Byrne, emphasises the part we can all play to achieve safer food for better health: “Whether we grow, process, transport, sell, prepare or serve food, food safety is in all our hands. Consumers have a right to safe food, and to get all the health benefits from safe food. It is great to see from our research that three quarters of adults are confident with the standard of food safety in Ireland, and almost 2 in 5 (39%) are already aware how to make a complaint if they experience unfit food or poor hygiene practices.”
“Whether you’re buying food or eating out, you have a right to safe food, and you also have a right to exercise that right,” she said.
Dr Byrne also reminded food businesses seeking to make changes to their processes to increase sustainability, to ensure food safety remains at the heart of everything they do.
“It’s great to see so many producers and suppliers take steps to become more sustainable, however, this can never be done at the expense of food safety. We urge food businesses to ensure they are meeting their food safety legal requirements and they should also take full advantage of the information and support provided by the FSAI and other authorities” added Dr Byrne
The FSAI’s research was carried out by Coyne Research between in May this year, with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults in Ireland.