an editorial supplement to The Grocer The peace dividend The peace process gave birth to an umbrella organisation to co-ordinate the work of food safety bodies, north and south. Karen Dempsey reports on its progress The current international attitude towards British beef raises the question of whether food producers in Northern Ireland would prefer to have their meat associated with the green image that the "island of Ireland" calls to mind, or whether they would prefer it labelled British. A thorny question and just one of the food safety issues that the Food Safety Promotion Board in Ireland, created as part of the peace process, is trying to address. Dr Thomas Quigley, its chief consultant in food safety says: "It was decided from a peace process point of view that food safety would be dealt with on an "island of Ireland" basis. But it is important, particularly to northerners, not to erode links with the UK and not to initiate anything that impinges on legislation." One of the FSPB's missions is to get the food safety related bodies on both sides of the border to work together. It was established ­ alongside five other implementation bodies ­ by the Belfast Agreement. In the republic the enforcement body is the Food Safety Authority of Ireland which was set up three years ago. Food safety north of the border is the remit of the Food Standards Agency, Northern Ireland, which has been in existence for just over a year. Raymond Ellard, chief specialist, environmental health, at the FSA of Ireland says there is a good relationship between the agencies in the north and the south. "We meet regularly and together we are developing a consistent scheme of risk management. There is a consistency between what happens in the north and south because we're dealing with similar issues such as food scares, traceability, BSE, GM as well as labels and nutrition." The FSPB is neither a regulatory nor enforcement body, but was established to strengthen links between key food safety interests north and south, including those responsible for legislation and standards. It also has links with the Food Standards Agency in Great Britain. "We're basically a north, south, east, west body that aims to bring everybody together," says Quigley. "In partnership with the enforcement agencies, the FSPB seeks to have the application of best practice as fundamental. While compliance with legislation underpins the enforcement role, compliance with best practice takes us a step further along the food safety continuum." The body is based in Dublin and has had an interim full time staff of seven based there and one part time member of staff in Belfast. But the plan is to have 30 employees based at new offices in Cork which are being fitted out. Its initial task has been to develop a logo ­ SafeFood. "We have developed this so consumers won't be confused The FSPB has a generic logo and we hope other food safety agencies will adopt this when they interact with the public," says Quigley. It has a helpline for consumers who want food safety advice on anything from communicable food-borne disease and diet to health and nutrition issues ­ but if it turns out to be an enforcement issue, the query is transferred to the appropriate regulatory agency. It also ran a media campaign to enhance public awareness of hygiene and safe domestic practices during the autumn and at Christmas. Quigley says that the FSPB also has a remit to identify knowledge gaps and carry out research and report on research findings. Research projects that are currently in the pipeline include a risk assessment of the health effects of stimulant drinks. Its scientific role is a major part of its job, such as the surveillance of food-borne disease, and it has an active role in promoting co-operation between laboratories. And when it comes to food alerts ­ while the enforcement agencies will manage the operational aspects ­ the FSPB's role in this area "is to liaise closely with the enforcement agencies to develop response protocols, particularly in relation to cross border measures and to promote appropriate training for personnel involved in managing alerts". Quigley says that the FSPB's role completes a virtuous circle, oiling the wheels of the food safety processes across the island. "Our key priority is to promote awareness and knowledge. The knowledge created as a result of our technical and research functions is used to foster awareness through our promtional functions. To ensure that the organisation responds appropriately to the changing environment this awareness must be measured to provide further information, thus completing the cycle." {{SUPPLEMENTS }}