New Members Appointed to the Food Safety Consultative Council
Musgrave Group’s Ray Bowe is chair
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) announced a new Food Safety Consultative Council (FSCC) for the period 2021/2026 has been appointed by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD. Some 23 consumer, food industry, food inspectorate and academia representatives comprise the FSCC, which acts as a conduit to provide feedback to the FSAI on the views, opinions and recommendations on the food sector, so that these can be placed on the FSAI’s agenda for appropriate action, where necessary.
Forum for Debate
The FSCC acts as a forum for debate on food safety issues and provides advice to the FSAI Board. It meets quarterly to discuss food safety issues of relevance to the food industry and the general public and represents a broad range of interests drawn from all sectors of the food industry, consumers, the food inspectorate and academia.
Twelve new representatives joined existing members to make the 2021/2026 Food Safety Consultative Council. The term of the new appointees is from 29 March 2021 to 28 March 2026, and full list of members is as follows:
- Ray Bowe – Musgrave Group (Chair)
- Paula Barry Walsh, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine *
- Patrick Farrell, Irish Farmers’ Association *
- Maree Gallagher, Food Law Solicitor
- Jonathan Griffith, Irish Health Trade Association *
- Cormac Healy, IBEC
- Dermot Jewell, Consumer Association of Ireland
- Caroline Keeling, Keelings *
- Sorcha Kavanagh, Conscious Cup *
- Jamie Knox, Britvic Ireland
- Catherine Morrison, Bord Iascaigh Mhara *
- Janis Morrissey, Irish Heart Foundation *
- Conor Mulvihill, Dairy Industry Ireland *
- Siobhan Murphy, Health Service Executive
- James McCrudden, Country Markets
- Alice McGlynn, Bord Bia *
- Tim O’Brien, Restaurateur
- Eamonn Quinn, Kelsius
- Louise Reynolds, Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute *
- Martin Roper, Food Safety Consultant
- Marcella Rudden, Cavan County Council *
- Regina Sexton, University College Cork *
- Annette Sweeney, Technological University Dublin
Farm to Fork
Throughout the course of the meetings, the FSCC examines segments of the food chain from farm to fork to review the food safety initiatives already in place and those required to ensure consumers’ health and interests continue to be to the forefront.
Ray Bowe, Chair of the Food Safety Consultative Council, highlighted the importance of the collaborative approach of the FSCC and that the new representatives will bring fresh knowledge and expertise to the Council.
“We welcome the newly elected members to the Food Safety Consultative Council and look forward to beginning the new term. Each year we host an open meeting to give members of the public and the food industry the opportunity to discuss issues of importance or concern in relation to food safety, which can then be placed on the agenda for the FSAI for consideration and action, where appropriate. We encourage consumers, food industry and interested stakeholders to join our open meeting which will take place in the autumn this year,” added Mr Bowe.
