About us

safefood provides independent scientific assessment and advice on the safety and hygiene of the food on the island of Ireland. To assist safefood in undertaking this work, a Scientific Advisory Committee of 18 experts with the support of a Scientific Advisor, provides scientific and technical guidance. The members are representative of the key disciplines involved in food safety and nutrition on the island.

The governing legislation of safefood states that the organisation “will draw on the pool of scientific advice and expertise available separately to the Northern Ireland and Irish food safety regimes”.  In addition, it is intended that safefood “will provide an independent assessment, through independent scientific advice, of the safety and hygiene of food produced, distributed or marketed in the island of Ireland”. safefood also has a remit to “issue reports on specific issues related to its functions, either on request from NSMC, or on its own initiative”.
(British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999: Annex 2, Part 2, Arts 7.1 and 7.2 and Art 8)

The scientific advisory structure of safefood comprises the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), supporting sub-committees and working groups.  Meeting three to four times yearly, the SAC provides strategic direction for the scientific advisory structures and leads the “horizon-scanning” process. The SAC comprises high-calibre experts from a range of academic, public health, consumer and industry backgrounds and advises the Chief Executive on scientific and technical matters in relation to food safety. 

The SAC is a statutory committee and has a similar advisory status to the Advisory Board.  Sub-committees and working groups address specific scientific and technical matters on which, from time to time, safefood may need advice.

The SAC is representative of the key disciplines involved in food safety and nutrition and includes senior technical personnel from the FSAI and FSA NI as observers.  
The role of the SAC includes:

• Advising on, reviewing and recommending to the secretariat the commissioning of independent scientific risk assessments
• Advising on communicable and non-communicable diseases related to diet
• Advising on nature and scope of surveys
• Keeping under review the possible contamination of the food supply
• Advising on scientific and public health aspects of nutrition and health
• Identifying knowledge gaps and research priorities.

 
Members of the SAC are appointed by the North-South Ministerial Council and provide a balance of expertise in the area of food safety and nutrition. They are appointed in a personal capacity and must demonstrate a proficiency and awareness of the wider state of knowledge in the field of food safety and have an aptitude for communication.