Who enforces food law
The FSAI has overall responsibility for the enforcement of food law in Ireland. It works through official agencies under service contracts.
- Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) of the HSE inspect most food businesses: restaurants, cafes, pubs, takeaways, shops and caterers.
- The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, local authority veterinary inspectors and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority supervise meat, dairy, egg and fish businesses.
Inspectors may visit without warning. Food businesses supervised by the HSE must be registered with it under S.I. No. 369 of 2006.
How an inspector looks at HACCP
The HSE uses the FSAI's Guidance Note No. 11 to assess HACCP compliance consistently. An inspector will usually:
- ask to see the written HACCP-based procedures and check that they match what the business really does
- look at the records: temperatures, cleaning, deliveries, corrective actions, training
- watch staff probing, handling and cleaning
- ask staff questions, for example "What is the cooking limit?" or "What would you do if the fridge was too warm?"
A plan that nobody follows scores no better than no plan at all. Inspectors compare what is on paper with what staff do.
Notices and orders
Authorised officers enforce food law under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 and S.I. No. 79 of 2020. The FSAI describes these steps:
- Improvement notice: served by an authorised officer when a practice or the condition of the premises, if it continues, is likely to pose a risk to public health. The business must make the improvements within a set time. Improvement notices are not published.
- Improvement order: if an improvement notice is not complied with, the District Court can issue an improvement order.
- Closure order: served by an authorised officer, for example where there is a grave and immediate danger to public health. All or part of the premises, or some of its activities, are closed until the officer is satisfied.
- Prohibition order: served by an authorised officer. It stops the sale of a particular consignment, class, batch or item of food, for a time or permanently.
The FSAI publishes closure, improvement and prohibition orders on its website with the name of the business. Closure and improvement orders stay on the list for three months after the order is lifted. Prohibition orders stay for one month. Serious cases can also be prosecuted in court.
Common reasons for orders include poor hygiene, pests, no working food safety management system, and food stored at the wrong temperature.
The employer's duties
The employer must still:
- write and maintain HACCP-based procedures for the actual business
- train you in the procedures of your workplace
- supervise your work and check records
- give you the equipment, such as working probes, and the time to do the checks
- keep the plan under review
This course cannot do those things for the employer. The certificate shows that you completed the course. It does not mean that you are ready to work unsupervised in any kitchen.
Your part in the system
- Follow the procedures exactly, even when it is busy.
- Monitor and record honestly.
- Take corrective action and tell your supervisor when a limit is missed.
- Report broken equipment, pests and illness.
- Ask when something is unclear, and say when the plan does not match real life.
- Co-operate with inspectors. Be polite, answer honestly and show records when asked.
A good food safety culture means these habits are normal in the business, even when nobody is watching. Since 2021, Regulation 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter XIa) requires businesses to establish, maintain and provide evidence of an appropriate food safety culture.
Key points
- HSE Environmental Health Officers inspect most food businesses, often unannounced.
- Officers serve improvement notices, closure orders and prohibition orders. The District Court can issue an improvement order. The FSAI publishes the orders.
- The employer must write, maintain and supervise the HACCP system.
- Your job: follow, monitor, record, act, report.
In practice
During an unannounced visit, an EHO asks a kitchen porter what the fridge temperature should be and what to do if it is too high. He answers: "Five degrees or below. If it is higher I tell the chef and we do not use the food until the chef decides." The EHO then finds matching records in the file. Staff knowledge and records agree, which shows the system is working.