IFA decision to establish food safety task force praised

THE decision by the Irish Farmers Association to establish a food safety task force was welcomed yesterday.

Prof Patrick Wall of UCD told the IFA executive council the task force was an excellent initiative and he was delighted to be associated with it.

“It is very important that Ireland protected its standing as a producer of quality, traceable food. The consequences of non-compliance would be disastrous for our reputation. It is essential that we continue to identify emerging trends and evaluate interventions.”

IFA president Padraig Walshe, who will chair the task force, said the purpose of it was to heighten farmer participation in all aspects of food traceability and consumer assurance.

Mr Walshe said the task force would deliver its findings and recommendations to the Food Safety Authority and the Department of Agriculture, which were the regulatory agencies for food safety.

“Lessons must be learned from the feed contamination scare that put the reputation of the Irish food industry in jeopardy and cost the exchequer dearly.

“What happened in the contamination of Irish pork is totally unacceptable and must never be allowed to happen again.

“At the Oireachtas agriculture committee hearing into the pork recall, I listed the hard questions that have to be asked — and answered — to prevent a recurrence of the systems failure at the food recycling plant in Carlow,” he said.

Mr Walshe said the IFA believes a risk-based assessment with constant reviewing of practices, technology, processes and traceability is the way forward.

The task force will assess all risks and the necessary actions, including inspections required, to prevent the recurrence of the feed contamination, which led to the pork recall last month, he said.