The downturn in the economy has led to an increase in the number of requests for information on starting a food business, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said today.
Publishing a guide to food law for artisan food producers, chief executive of the FSAI, Prof Alan Reilly, said the increase in information requests was possibly a reflection of the downturn in the economy and people looking for new business opportunities. "On the positive side, it is showing that people wishing to take their first entrepreneurial step to establish a food business, wish to do so in the correct manner”.
In 2009, there was a 50 per cent increase on 2008, on the number of enquiries to the FSAI’s advice line asking for information on how to set up a new food business, the authority said.
"The responsibility for food safety rests firmly on food industry and this guide provides details on the fundamental requirements for setting up an artisan or small food business, including contact details of the various agencies which can assist in fulfilling a start-up,” Prof Reilly added.
To operate legally the food business operator must ensure that their food business is registered, or approved; that they have a food safety management system in place; that their business has an effective traceability system; that staff handling food have received food safety training; and that they comply with food law.
Prof Reilly said the guide would allow people new to the industry to be self-sufficient in setting up their food business in the correct way, so that they are complying with food safety legislation.