Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, has been awarded a major EU-funded contract to develop European-wide food safety blueprints for farm production, processing, retailing and catering of meat products.
The project, worth €500,000, will be led by Dr Declan Bolton, of the Teagasc National Food Centre, Dublin, and will involve a consortium of scientists and industry partners in nine EU states as well as Poland, Hungary, the US and Canada.
In addition to developing critical safety practices for vital stages in the food chain, the initiative will also review how food poisoning outbreaks are investigated and will also advise on effective communications strategies with consumers on food safety issues.
Announcing details of the initiative, Dr Bolton said: "Over the last three years, Teagasc has developed and published food safety blueprints for Irish beef, pork and lamb slaughter.
"Called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), they detail the safety practices which must be undertaken from the time the animal reaches the factory until the carcass enters the chill room."
He said recently enacted EU legislation legally mandated HACCP food safety systems.