As part of our Food Waste campaign we provided diaries for you to print out and fill in. Here in the office, four of us decided to join in. The results are in…

One of the most common questions we get asked is the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates on foods. “Don’t they mean the same thing?” you ask. If you are confused you are not alone.

Community Food Initiatives are projects that improve the availability, affordability and accessibility of healthy, safe food for low income groups at a local level.

If you're one of the lucky ones who got to register for the Operation Transformation annual 5km run you’ve probably thought about what gear you’re going to wear. But have you thought about what you're going to eat and drink?

It’s hard to stick to a healthy diet on the road. Road trips, whether for business or pleasure, often include the kinds of food you would never dream of eating at home.

Here is a big question - will food rationing be part of future solutions to the obesity crisis?

My sister was very quick to remind me that my own Friday night usually starts out with “Can I have two number sixes and a number, a number 17?"

This week safefood will bring our ‘Germ Scene Investigation’ stand to the Ploughing Championships from the 25th – 27th September.

If the Olympics are to be true to their motto of “inspiring a generation”, having fast food and beer as the main sponsors as well as an official “treats provider” are not the way to go.

Last month the Dept. Health issued new dietary guidelines for the Republic of Ireland for adults and children over 5 years old. While the pyramid format remains the same, these new guidelines put a greater emphasis on portion sizes and reducing ‘treat foods’. Dr. Aileen McGloin has the low down.

In Ireland, we do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. Dr Eileen Gibney’s team at UCD showed that genetic variation plays a minor role in food choice whereas factors such as knowledge and attitudes about healthy eating have a large impact on food choice

The British Heart Foundation and Children’s Food Campaign have launched a report which examines the ways that food companies are marketing unhealthy foods and drinks to children online.

A new European Food Information Council (EUFIC) Review has looked at whether people in Europe get the amounts of fruit and vegetable which are recommended for good health.

New research published in the British Medical Journal has investigated the association between intake of dietary fibre and wholegrains and risk of colorectal cancer. The study involved a systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 prospective observational studies.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) have reported a reduction in salt intake in adults from food (not including salt added while cooking or at the table).

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health found that women who ate more food containing Trans fats, such as fried foods and baked goods, gave birth to larger babies. The study involved 1400 pregnant women in Boston...

The blog is back! Sorry for missing the post last week. I was speaking at a conference we hosted on Thursday in Cork called "Salt: Hard to Shake" which launched new salt research and showed we're still eating way too much salt in our diets. (you can...

Here's some food for thought over the weekend. Sorry, I meant "Thought for Food". Thought For Food is a brand new initiative that hopes to generate new ideas to tackle the world’s food issues. 60 students from 12 of Europe’s leading universities...

The National Children’s Food Survey (NCFS) was carried out by nutritional scientists at University College Cork and University College Dublin (www.iuna.net) in 2005. Following the launch of the prelim...

The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) and food organisations worldwide have produced a ‘Global Update on Nutrition labelling’ which provides a comprehensive overview of the state of play on nu...

New EU food labelling rules were approved by MEPs yesterday. Further information is available from the European Parliament website. Concern has been expressed that Front of pack labelling has not been...

Since about 1.00-ish yesterday, my eldest son is one of those "boys of summer". Lucky thing. Months of sleeping late/playing outside 'til all hours/going places/doing sportscamps/watching cartoons/not getting dressed until lunchtime... And foo...

NHS Choices have published “Miracle Foods: Myths and the Media” which analyses health stories that make the news, providing an unbiased and evidence-based analysis of the stories

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently updating the dietary reference values (DRVs) published in 1993. These will provide comprehensive nutrition guidelines, for example for food label...

Star Chefs...The Next Generation

Tickled pink about milk

Everyone looking forward to Easter? How many Easter eggs have you got lined up so far?  I’m guessing there’s not a single person reading this that won’t have a bit of chocolate this weekend. The question is: how much? In the interests of science,...

Food on Film..

When it comes to food, I really, really like to try new things. A kind of reverse fussy-eater, that's me.  This week, me and three friends tried a new restaurant for lunch. Nothing fancy mind you. No knives, forks or plates - just your chosen lu...

Fussy eating. I don't mean the this-recipe-would-be-so-much-nicer-if-you-used-fresh-herbs variety of fussy eater. Oh no. I mean those little darling(s) in your life who probably coined the phrase "flip flop" when it came to their personal stance o...

A colleague told me on Wednesday about how she made homemade cookies with her 2 girls last weekend, which were a great success for lots of reasons; her kids loved get...

It's all about questions these days. And answers. And it's usually the answers that are most interesting. And funny. Take Dermot junior - I often tell others he wasn't born but hewn from bare rock in a quarry. He's like a force of nature these d...

So what does Christmas mean to you? For me, it’s about enjoying the company of family and friends, sending cards, giving gifts (and getting some in return if I’ve been good). And food, because food forms such a big part of our Christmas traditions...

Heroes. It's a word that gets used a lot when the dedication, actions, efforts and commitment of others get noticed. For me, I would subscribe to the old school definition of heroes. Those who do heroic deeds for the sake of others. Ordinary peopl...

Green shoots. We could all do with some of that right now. Earlier this year, safefood launched a funded demonstration programme of Community Food Initiatives (CFI) across the island of Ireland. You can hear about them on the following ...

If you were at our Social Media conference last week, hope you enjoyed it. And if you couldn't make it, the presentations and audio are now available to download/podcast. Food Portions. What's a portion? Would you like another portion? Do you ha...

I'm speaking at our social media conference tomorrow ("You are what you tw-eat") and it got me thinking about the impact of social media on our food choices. Whatever type of food or chef you like, the chances are there's at the very minimum, a webs...

Social Media is changing in many ways, how we live our lives and how we communicate with each other. This blog is just one small part of that. And next Thursday 16th, we're hosting a one-day conference for those working in food and health on the isl...

Hi there and it's good to be back from holidays. I had a great break and enjoyed spending more time with the kids. Thanks to all the guest bloggers who filled in while I was away.  Back to the blog in hand. My work at safefood involves a rang...