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This study was prepared for Policy Department A at the request of the Environmental, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee, and updates the earlier 2013 briefing. It provides an overview of the food safety situation in Ireland. It outlines the Irish food and drink industry, the structure and organisation of the food safety and control system involved in food safety in Ireland and a description of current food safety issues in Ireland. An overview of the structure and competencies of the ...

A plant pathogen called Xylella fastidiosa has already devastated close to 30 000 hectares of olive groves in the Italian region of Apulia, with major economic and social consequences for the olive production sector. Following notification of the Xylella outbreak by the Italian authorities in October 2013, the EU has adopted a series of emergency measures, which are now to be further tightened by stringent prevention and eradication actions aimed at curbing the epidemic.

Concern about the rising number of incidents of food fraud has led to calls for stronger action in this area, not least because the food chain in Europe is worth some €750 billion a year. Following the horsemeat scandal, which hit the EU at the beginning of 2013, the European Commission set about restoring consumer and market confidence through a number of measures, including proposals to strengthen controls along the food chain and toughen penalties for fraudsters.

This briefing note provides an overview of the public health situation in Ireland. It presents the health status of the population, reviews determinants of health and highlights the major burden of disease. It describes the health care system and looks at some of the current healthcare challenges, especially those related to financing healthcare during a recession. It also looks at the future and at some of the government’s proposals for a sustainable and equitable healthcare service to the people ...

Over the past decade, animal welfare has become a matter of growing public concern. As purchasing choices are instrumental to the economic viability of the agro- and food- sectors, the industry has been trying to find ways to rebuild and maintain consumer trust.

Classical swine fever (CSF) and African swine fever (ASF) are two highly transmissible viral diseases affecting domestic pigs and wild boar, with major economic consequences on pig farming and on pig-product markets. These diseases do not recognise frontiers, and their control and eradiction justify for coordinated action and common EU measures. These diseases are not transmissible to humans.