19 food facilities and businesses in Ireland across many sectors have been awarded the prestigious Food Safety Assurance Accreditation, meaning that the premises has undergone rigorous independent auditing against Irish Food Safety Standards, underpinned by legislation, and achieved excellence in hygiene. The scheme is managed by the Food Safety Professionals Association, an organisation working to maintain and improve standards of food safety advice, training and education opportunities in the Irish food industry.
The 19 facilities who have achieved the Food Safety Assurance Accreditation can now proudly display their accreditation to the public and their customers, letting them know they can have full confidence in their food safety and hygiene protocols. Accreditation certificates were officially awarded to the following 19 recipients at a ceremony in Airfield Estate in Dundrum. Local facilities and businesses included Kelly Bros Meats Ltd, Clondalkin, Dublin and The Q Café at St Edmundsbury’s in Lucan.
Lorraine Oman, Chair of the Food Safety Professionals Association, says “Ireland is renowned globally for top quality food products, and ensuring that food safety and hygiene standards are of the highest calibre across all sectors is at the very heart of what our organisation does. Our Food Safety Assurance Accreditation scheme, which is voluntary for businesses, is an extremely important initiative as it demonstrates that a business is working consistently to adhere to the highest possible statutory and regulatory standards.
Through team work and commitment, the 2023 recipients have worked diligently to ensure they met the requirements necessary to achieve this accreditation. They deserve huge congratulations for achieving this accolade. With more and more customers and suppliers now seeking assurance that a food business is accredited when it comes to food safety and hygiene, we are encouraging all businesses in the food sector to engage in this initiative.”
In addition to the Food Safety Assurance Accreditation scheme, the Food Safety Professionals Association also hosts a range of educational training courses for those working in industry. The organisation operates a QQI registered training centre offering a range of food safety and hygiene programmes that meet Food Safety Authority of Ireland requirements and lead to QQI awards at levels four to six on the National Framework of Qualifications for designing and implementing food safety management systems and conducting food standards audits.
The organisation offers a forum and network opportunities for food safety and hygiene professionals working across the country. Established in 2007, the Food Safety Professionals Association is a quality assured organisation and holds ‘ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System’, an accreditation internationally recognised as the world’s leading quality management standard. For more details about the Food Safety Professionals Association, visit www.fspa.ie.
