Butchers alerted to food safety

More than 120 butchers identified by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland as being involved in "high-risk" sales have not adopted basic food safety practices.

All butchers are required to have an EU-recognised food safety programme in place to ensure their meat products are safely prepared and stored.

The HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) programme is a systematic approach to identifying and controlling hazards that could pose a danger to food safety and consumer health.

However, of the 961 butchers selling both raw and cooked meat products - considered a "high-risk" activity by the authority - 13 per cent have not begun to implement HACCP guidelines and a further 60 per cent are still in the process of reaching compliance, environmental health officers have found.

"By not complying with the principles of best food safety practice, food businesses not only place the viability of their business in question by flouting the law, they also place the health of their consumers at risk," Dr Wayne Anderson, the authority's senior food specialist, said.

HACCP controls are essential to ensuring hazards to the consumer are minimised by identifying what could go wrong and having a system of prevention in place, Dr Anderson said.