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• Foodborne pathogen reports decline in Ireland

  Most foodborne infections declined in Ireland from July to September this year compared to the same period in 2023. The data comes from a report published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) that includes foodborne illnesses in the third quarter of 2024.  In the first quarter of 2024, there were 733 Campylobacter cases, five...

• Data Breaches and Spreadsheets: How to Avoid Fines When Excelling

  The ICO has fined the Police Service of Northern Ireland (“PSNI”) £750,000 in what it has described as the “most significant data breach that has ever occurred in the history of UK policing”[1]. The ICO imposed the largest ever fine on a public body following the unauthorised disclosure of an Excel spreadsheet containing the personal...

• FSAI warns of rise in ‘complex’ food incidents in annual report

  In its annual report, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) warned that food incidents are becoming more complex and often serious. FSAI marked its 25th anniversary in 2023. External challenges impacting food safety include the potential for supply disruption due to political unrest in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, regulatory divergence...

• The FSA sampling survey finds a high level of compliance

  A food sampling exercise found limited safety concerns but problems with declared meat content and added water. Findings come from a survey published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which helps monitor emerging food safety risks. The survey, which took place from July 2023 to January 2024, sampled 1,025 products from 31 commodities bought in England,...

• Ireland shares the latest pathogen statistics

  Ireland has reported the number of infections caused by major pathogens from April to June. Data comes from a report published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) that includes foodborne illnesses in the second quarter of 2024.  In the first quarter of 2024, there were 733 Campylobacter cases, five Listeria infections, 67 Salmonella cases,...

• Ireland and Canada donate to the Safe Food Trade program

  Ireland and Canada have donated thousands to support food safety and agriculture trade efforts. Ireland’s donation of €200,000 ($223,000) will support Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) projects and programs that improve access to global and regional markets for developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs). Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, said: “Small-scale farmers...

• Britain’s Renowned Higher Education Institutions Face Financial Headwinds, Potential Insolvency

  British universities facing financial challenges and shifting enrollment patterns are considering restructuring plans in light of potential insolvencies. Revered for their academic excellence and preeminent research facilities, the universities in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland have a collective annual revenue of over £48 billion, largely from fees and expenses paid by international students.  Continue...

• Irish project shows the mycotoxin situation in the cereals industry

  Scientists have looked at mycotoxin issues in the cereals sector in Ireland to help better protect consumers. Ireland is an important producer of oats and barley. While some of the output is used as animal feed, a significant proportion is used in the food and beverage industries. Chris Elliott, an ex-professor of Food Safety at...

• FSAI repeats duck egg warning after Salmonella cases

  Several Salmonella infections in Ireland have been linked to eating duck eggs. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said duck eggs should only be eaten after thoroughly cooking. FSAI and the Health Service Executive (HSE) have investigated five cases of Salmonellosis linked to duck eggs within the past 12 months. No information about the...

• Ireland plans official control changes, issues raw bean warning

  Ireland is to change who conducts certain official food controls to make the most of available resources. Official controls currently undertaken by the Local Authority Veterinary Service (LAVS) will be transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM). The transition is expected to be completed in quarter four of 2024. At a...

Featured documents

• Listeria risk: authority tells food industry to toughen controls

  05/07/2005 Tighter controls need to be adopted by both the food industry and consumers to limit the spread of the harmful food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, concludes a new report. Detailing some 58 recommendations for risk prevention, the report was prepared by the Food Safety Authority of...

• Risk of Salmonella Transmission to Infants in Grocery Carts

  A study conduced in Ireland suggests a risk of transmission of Salmonella to children under one year of age while riding in grocery carts (although they are apparently grocery “trolleys” there.)  The Independent reported on a study, noting that between 20-40 cases of Salmonella are reported in...

• Northern Ireland’s Largest E. coli Outbreak Tapers Off After Restaurant Closure

  An estimated 290 people are now thought to have been sickened in what has become the largest E. coli outbreak to affect Northern Ireland. Health officials announced Wednesday that 124 cases have been confirmed and a further 166 are suspected to be part of the outbreak linked to Flicks, a sit-down...

• Forum non conveniens – Trezziova v. Kohn

  The Madoff Ponzi scheme had far-reaching impact. How far? At least as far as Ireland and Luxembourg, each of which produced a number of plaintiffs in Trezziova v. Kohn (2d Cir. Sep. 17, 2013). In Trezziova, investors in a number of funds (the Thema International Fund PLC [], the Herald LUX Fund,...

• New Irish Data Protection Commissioner Appointed

  On September 10, 2014, Helen Dixon was announced as the new Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland. She succeeds Billy Hawkes who has held the post since 2005....

• Safe Harbor Invalid! Will the ECJ follow the Advocate General recommendation?

  Advocate General Yves Bot today delivered an opinion recommending that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) find the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Program invalid. His opinion, while non-binding, relates to a request for a preliminary ruling referred to the ECJ by the High Court of Ireland, Irish Court in...

• Advocate General Finds Member States May Not Breach EU Laws Over Electronic Communications Retention

  On July 19, 2016, Advocate General Saugmandsgaard Oe published his Opinion on two cases that sought to establish whether a general obligation to retain data is compatible with the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection under EU law....

• Northern Ireland’s FSA opens comment period on novel foods

  Comments, that began on April 4, 2017 and continue to June 27, 2017, are being taken by the Food Standards Agency for Northern Ireland about enforcement of novel foods by food businesses. The agency says its aim is to ensure effective, consistent and proportionate enforcement of the new novel foods ...

• International Cannabis Spotlight: Ireland

  Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Given the origin of the holiday, we write to update you on the regulation of cannabis in Ireland. Historically, Ireland has had a conservative cannabis policy due to the nation’s heroin epidemic, among other factors. In 1977, the government enacted the Misuse of Drugs Act (t...

• Crew Members Use Guest Cabin for Sex?

  A couple from Northern Ireland were surprised when after boarding the Norwegian Jewel, they opened the door to their cabin (# 10039) and were confronted with strangers having sex on one of the beds. The cruisers in question, Bobby and Mary Jackson, are from a small town north of Belfast and were...