safefood is a North-South body, responsible for the promotion of food safety on the island of Ireland. It was established in 1999 under the terms of the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 and the North-South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) Northern Ireland Order 1999.

The governing legislation confers the following specific functions on the organisation:

• Promotion of food safety
• Research into food safety
• Communication of food alerts
• Surveillance of foodborne disease
• Promotion of scientific co-operation and laboratory linkages
• Development of cost-effective facilities for specialised laboratory testing.

In addition to these specific functions, safefood has a general remit to act as an independent source of scientific advice.