ABSTRACT
15.4 Food Safety Authority of Ireland In Ireland the 1996 BSE crisis also proved an impetus for change. Plans to establish an independent food authority, which had been mooted for some time, were expedited and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) was established under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998. The Act was enacted in July 1998 and came into effect on 1 January 1999. The principal function of the FSAI is to take all reasonable steps to ensure that food produced, distributed or marketed in the State meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene reasonably available and to ensure that food complies with legal requirements or, where appropriate, with recognised codes of good practice.
