Greens call for new food-safety department

The Green Party wants the responsibility for food safety to be taken away from the Department of Agriculture, saying it is the only way to ensure safe, quality food for consumers.

Speaking at the unveiling of a policy document on food safety, Councillor Mary White said the party backed the creation of a department of consumer affairs dedicated to ensuring safe food production.

Ms White said this would have the added effect of giving the consumer an equal voice at the Cabinet table for first time.

The message from the public is simple – they don’t want their food tampered with. Ms Mary White of the Green Party

She dismissed criticism from the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Minister for Agriculture that the Green agriculture and food policies were flawed.

"The message from the public is simple – they don’t want their food tampered with. They are concerned about food at the moment and they do not believe the regulatory bodies in charge of their food," she said.

The idea of shifting the responsibility for food from the Department of Agriculture was not a new one, she said. "After the BSE crisis the responsibility for food safety was transferred to the Department of Health. The foot-and-mouth crisis showed up a further need for the Department of Health to act, but with little effect".

Green councillor in Wicklow Ms Deirdre de Burca said the Party wanted to ensure Ireland becomes a genetically modified free zone, "a view supported by 85 per cent of consumers who have said strongly that they do not want genetically modified foods".