Dr. Gary Kearney:

We are delighted to have the opportunity to make a presentation to the committee today. The presentation has two parts. First, I will give a short introduction to Safefood. After that, an overview of Safefood's work on childhood obesity, nutrition and healthy eating will be delivered by our nutrition director, Dr. Aileen McGloin. Also present is Ms Joana Caldeira Fernandes da Silva, our chief specialist in nutrition.

Safefood was set up as the Food Safety Promotion Board in December 1999 as one of six implementation bodies established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Safefood implements, on an all-island and cross-Border basis, policies agreed in the health and food safety sectoral meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council, the most recent of which was held in Armagh on 27 June. Departmental responsibility rests with the Department of Health in Belfast and the Department of Health in Dublin.

Our headquarters are in Cork and we have a suboffice in Dublin that houses our marketing and communications people. This leaves us with four directorates reporting to the chief executive. Our budget for 2024 is €7.9 million, which is roughly £6.8 million. Funding is provided by the Oireachtas and by the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Oireachtas provides 70% of the funding, with 30% coming from the Northern Ireland Assembly. Safefood does not have a direct involvement in public communications relating to food safety incidents and alerts as these responsibilities are assigned to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in Ireland and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland. We have a permanent staffing level of 30.

Safefood has no function in the regulatory aspects of food; that is left to the regulatory bodies in both jurisdictions. Instead, we have a broad promotional role. Our key function is to promote food safety as a responsibility shared by the entire food chain - everybody from primary producers to the public. The organisation is also charged with providing advice on nutrition. However, our promotion role goes beyond promoting just to the public and those who produce and sell food. We commission and fund research and also promote scientific co-operation and laboratory linkages. Our governing legislation provides that the chief executive shall carry out the functions of the body under the direction of the North-South Ministerial Council, and I am assisted in this duty by a 12-member advisory board and an advisory committee of 13 members. We operate under four directorates, two scientific directorates, one of which deals with food safety and the other with healthy eating and nutrition; marketing and communications because communications area key aspect of our role; and corporate operations which supports the operational structure of the organisation.

Safefood’s strategy links economic, social, and cultural factors that continue to change over time, influencing the public’s concerns and their perceptions of behaviour in regard to food. We monitor these concerns and utilises its resources to appropriately inform and, where necessary, reassure consumers so that they may continue to make positive healthy and safe food choices. We also use targeted consumer messages to further inform, support and motivate consumers to put food safety and healthy eating at the centre stage of their lifestyle choice. Our focus has evolved from individual food poisoning crises and pathogens to an emphasis on the four Cs of basic food hygiene, that is, cook, clean, chill and cross-contamination in our home kitchens; from limited individual nutrient information to an holistic approach to the obesity epidemic; from bench research to applied and behavioural research; from mass media campaigns to multicomponent integrated campaigns; and from print and traditional media to social media platforms.

We are aware of the wider public health context in which we operate and we work in partnership with Governments and professional partners across the island of Ireland to inform the public of positive lifestyle choices to improve their health, particularly nutritional advice and good food safety practice. In addition, Safefood has promoted food safety and hygiene along the food chain through the establishment of an all-island food safety network, the Knowledge Network, a collaborative arrangement that creates and augment linkages across the island between food safety professionals. Many of these professionals, not only North-South but also east-west, do not get the opportunity to meet and share the of issues that arise. Therefore, this network has been quite impactful and a great success over the years.

With regard to research, we have continued to undertake appropriate research and knowledge-gathering in order to address gaps in scientific knowledge related to our core areas of food safety, hygiene and healthy eating. This builds the evidence base that facilitates Safefood’s communications to consumers and food safety professionals across the food chain. Our aim is always to provide messages that are supported by science and that are clear, concise, authoritative, relevant and independent. Our information must be accessible, accurate, and supportive of public policy.

I will hand over to Dr. Aileen McGloin who shall provide an overview of Safefood’s work in childhood obesity and nutrition.