Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998

PART I Preliminary

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Short title. Act, 1998.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—Interpretation.

“authorised officer” means a person appointed as an authorised officer under section 49;

“the Authority” means the Food Safety Authority of Ireland established under section 9;

“the Board” means the Board of the Authority;

“chief executive” means the chief officer of the Authority appointed under section 37;

“closure order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 53;

“enforcement” in relation to food legislation, means the carrying out of inspections, surveillance, sampling, analysis, licensing and registration and the taking of legal proceedings;

“establishment day” means the day appointed by the Minister under section 3 to be the establishment day;

“food” includes—

(a) any substance used, available to be used or intended to be used, for food or drink by human persons, and

(b) any substance which enters into or is used in the production, composition or preparation of these substances,

and references to food include, as the context may require, reference to a particular food or class of food;

“food inspection” means the systems of inspection carried out by or on behalf of the Authority in order to ascertain whether—

(a) food,

(b) the processes (including processes aimed at preserving or prolonging the freshness and wholesomeness of food) to which food is subjected,

(c) the physical environment in which food is produced, held, prepared and handled,

(d) the skills, training and competence of people handling or otherwise dealing with food in premises coming within the scope of this Act,

(e) any substances and materials which may be used at any stage in the production of food (including, where appropriate, animal feedings tuffs) and including the pre- and post-mortem examination of animals at abattoirs or other such premises whose meat is to be supplied as food or is to be used in the production of food,

(f) food additives, vitamins, mineral salts, trace elements, flavourings and other additives intended to be sold as such,

(g) materials and articles intended to come into contact with food,

(h) products of the soil, products of stock farming, aquaculture and of fisheries and game,

complies with food legislation aimed at preventing risks to public health;

“food legislation” means—

(a) the Acts (including any instruments made there under) specified in Part I,

(b) the statutory instruments specified in Part II,

(c) the Regulations of an institution of the European Communities specified in Part III,

of the First Schedule in so far as they relate to food safety and hygiene,

(d) any Act passed by the Oireachtas or any statutory instrument made thereunder or regulation made under the European Communities Act, 1972, after the establishment day and deemed to be food legislation for the purposes of this Act,

“food safety” means the steps taken to avoid risks to public health arising from food intended for human consumption;

“food standards” in relation to food safety and hygiene, means standards established by or under food legislation relating to any or all of the following:

(a) the composition of food, including—

(i) the level of contaminants or residues that may be present in food,

(ii) its microbiological status and safety, and

(iii) the method of sampling and testing of food to determine its composition;

(b) the production of food, including the equipment used and the processes employed;

(c) the packaging, storing or handling of food;

(d) the sale, importation or exportation of food;

(e) any information about food, including labelling, promotion and advertising thereof;

(f) the avoidance of physical, chemical, radiological, biological or other contamination of food;

(g) the avoidance of risks to human health arising from ingestion or otherwise of food;

(h) the maximum or minimum amount of substances that are or are required to be or may be used in the preparation of food;

“former Authority” means the Food Safety Authority of Ireland established by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (Establishment) Order, 1997 (S.I. No. 524 of 1997);

“functions” includes powers and duties, and reference to the performance of functions includes, as respects powers and duties, references to the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties;

“health board” means a board established under section 4 of the Health Act, 1970;

“hygiene” in relation to food safety or standards, means the observance of standards of good practice aimed at the avoidance of contamination of food;

“improvement notice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 52(1);

“improvement order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 52(4);

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government Act, 1941;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“official agency” shall be construed in accordance with the Second Schedule;

“premises” includes any place, building, aircraft, vehicle, railway wagon, container or vessel or temporary premises at or in or on which any trade, business or activity in connection with the production, preparation, processing, manufacture, exportation, importation, storage, distribution or sale of food is or has been carried on;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations made by the Minister;

“prohibition order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 54(1);

“recognised trade unions and associations” means the trade unions and staff associations recognised by the Authority for the purpose of negotiations which are concerned with the transfers of staff to the Authority as well as remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of officers of the Authority and employees of the Authority;

“remuneration” includes allowances for expenses, benefits-in-kind and superannuation;

“sale” includes to offer for sale or to sell or to supply whether or not for profit and any cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“the Scientific Committee” means the committee established under section 34;

“service contract” has the meaning assigned to it by section 48;

“superannuation benefits” means pensions, gratuities and other allowances payable on resignation, retirement or death;

“uncultivated foods” means foods which are not commercially produced or harvested, including wild mushrooms, fruit and berries and fish and game harvested through recreational activities.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section or Schedule is to a section of, or Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended,

(c) a reference to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act, and

(d) a reference to a statutory instrument shall be construed as a reference to that instrument as amended, adapted or extended by any subsequent statutory instrument.

3 Establishment day.

3.—The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

4 Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

4.—Every order (other than an order made under section 3 or 44) and every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order or regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

5 Amendment of Schedules.

5.—The Minister may, after consultation with the relevant Minister of the Government or other person having responsibility for the official agency concerned, by order amend the First or Second Schedule by making additions thereto or deletions therefrom.

6 Prosecution of summary offences.

6.—(1) Proceedings in relation to a summary offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Authority.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be commenced at any time within 12 months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Authority to justify initiating the proceedings comes to the Authority's knowledge not being later than 5 years from the date on which the offence concerned was committed.

7 Offences by bodies corporate.

7.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect or default on the part of a person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director, manager or secretary of the body corporate.

8 Expenses of Minister.

8.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II The Food Safety Authority of Ireland

9 Establishment of Authority.

9.—(1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body to be known as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, or in the Irish language as Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann, to perform the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

(3) The Authority shall have all such powers as are necessary for or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.

10 Independence of Authority.

10.—The Authority shall, subject to this Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions.

11 Principal function of Authority.

11.—The principal function of the Authority shall be to take all reasonable steps to ensure that—

(a) food produced in the State (whether or not distributed or marketed in the State), and

(b) food distributed or marketed in the State,

meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene reasonably available and it shall, in particular, take all reasonable steps to ensure that such food complies—

(i) with food legislation in respect of food safety and hygiene standards, or

(ii) where appropriate, with the provisions of generally recognised standards or codes of good practice aimed at ensuring the achievement of high standards of food hygiene and food safety.

12 Promotion of standards.

12.—(1) In order to achieve the highest level of protection reasonably available in the interests of public health and consumer protection, the Authority shall promote, encourage and foster at all stages of food production, from primary production through to final use by the consumer, the establishment and maintenance of high standards of food hygiene and safety.

(2) The Authority shall, for the purposes of subsection (1), undertake or arrange to have undertaken such activities as it deems appropriate to foster and promote such standards and shall carry out or arrange to have carried out such food inspections as are required to determine compliance with food legislation.

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of food legislation, the activities and food inspections to be undertaken by or on behalf of the Authority and referred to in subsection (2) shall be directed towards bringing about a general acceptance amongst producers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and caterers of the principle that, in respect of any food placed on the market, the primary responsibility for the safety and suitability of the food for human consumption is borne by them individually or, as appropriate, collectively, and, as a consequence, each of the parties mentioned shall take all reasonable steps to ensure, in so far as that party is concerned, the safety and hygienic standard of that food.

(4) For the purpose of promoting higher standards, the Authority shall endeavour to consult representatives of consumers, producers, retailers, distributors, caterers and manufacturers and, where appropriate, official agencies about the activities or other measures to be undertaken.

13 Food safety assurance schemes.

13.—(1) For the purposes of section 12 the Authority may, by itself or with such representatives of particular food business groups or organisations as it considers appropriate, establish schemes (in this section referred to as “food safety assurance schemes”) for the protection of consumer interests.

(2) The Authority shall promote, encourage and facilitate the establishment of food safety assurance schemes which shall be established upon the best available practices and standards of food safety and hygiene available and have available such documentation and other evidence relating to raw materials, processing, preparation, packaging, storage and labelling of foodstuffs, as the Authority considers appropriate for the protection of consumer interests.

(3) The Authority shall prepare guidelines to be observed by it in relation to the establishment of food safety assurance schemes.

(4) Any such guidelines shall require the approval of the Board, following consultation with the Scientific Committee.

(5) Subject to subsection (7), the Authority shall not participate in food safety assurance schemes.

(6) The Authority may endorse its approval of any food safety assurance scheme on any terms and conditions which the Board may stipulate following consultation with the Scientific Committee and the Authority may withdraw any such endorsement.

(7) The Authority shall monitor and report to the Board on the performance and implementation of food safety assurance schemes.

(8) The Authority may publish reports in relation to food safety assurance schemes.

(9) An official agency shall notify the Authority in relation to any food safety assurance scheme in which it is involved or supports and shall have regard to any advice of the Authority in relation to such involvement or support.

14 Consultative Council.

14.—(1) The Authority shall for the purposes of the consultations referred to in section 12(4) or for consultations on any other matter relating to the functions of the Authority, establish a body to be known as the Food Safety Consultative Council (referred to in this section as “the Council”).

(2) The Council shall consist of not more than 24 members and shall be broadly based and representative.

(3) The Council shall be established under such terms and conditions determined, before its establishment, by the Board, following consultations with the Minister.

(4) The Minister may appoint not more than 12 members to the Council, of whom—

(a) 2 shall have been nominated by the Minister for Agriculture and Food,

(b) one shall have been nominated by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources,

(c) one shall have been nominated by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and

(d) one shall have been nominated by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government,

and the remainder shall be appointed by the Board.

(5) Members of the Council shall be paid such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

(6) The Authority shall have regard to any opinions expressed by the Council on any matter under review by the Authority. However, failure to consult the Council or to adopt a course of action on any matter corresponding to that proposed or supported by the Council shall not invalidate the decisions or actions of the Authority on the matter in question or on any other matter.

(7) The Authority may publish the opinions of the Council.

(8) The Board in the case of appointments made by it and the Minister in the case of appointments made by him or her, shall ensure, in so far as is practicable, an equitable balance between men and women.

15 Advice of Authority.

15.—The Authority shall at the request of the Minister or of another Minister of the Government, provide to the Minister or that other Minister of the Government advice on issues relating to all or any of the matters listed in this section or may, on its own initiative, provide such advice on—

(a) food-borne diseases, including food-borne zoonotic diseases,

(b) nutritional aspects of food and the role of diet in public health,

(c) statutory developments relating to food safety and hygiene,

(d) technology and industrial practices relating to food and food preparation,

(e) the organisation and administration of systems for the approval, licensing and registration and inspection of premises carrying on a food business,

(f) food production including cultivation of crops, fruit and vegetables, the harvest of uncultivated foods, the cultivation and production of shellfish and breeding or rearing of animals for slaughter and for food production,

(g) labelling and packaging of food (including materials used in packaging),

(h) the scope for improved systems for the communication of information to the public on the safety and hygiene of food, including the safe handling of food in the home, and

(i) any other matter relevant to food safety and hygiene,

and may publish such advice.

16 Collection and assessment of data.

16.—(1) The Authority may—