There were 1,561 press releases posted in the last 24 hours and 413,427 in the last 365 days.

Survey Results Reveal Small Food Businesses Find Food Safety Regulations Demanding But Beneficial to Business

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today released the results of a recent survey*  which showed that while 1 in 3 (32%) small food businesses find food safety regulations the most demanding and onerous tasks, nearly 3 in 4 (72%) believed that these regulations helped their business by building consumer confidence.  The survey was conducted with small to medium sized food businesses, with results showing 80% of these businesses emphatically trusting the FSAI to deal with businesses fairly.

Commenting on these findings Dr Wayne Anderson, Director of Food Science and Standards, FSAI states that, “The Government has a vision that the food sector in Ireland will form one of the main drivers for the return to economic prosperity.  Small and medium sized food businesses are the lifeblood of growth in the sector.  These survey results provide a lot of informative feedback to us in how we can best work with and support food entrepreneurs.”

The survey found that small food businesses and inspectors have a good working relationship, with at least 85% of respondents reporting positive experiences with those they have encountered.  The food inspectors are viewed as being supportive, knowledgeable and easy to work with, whilst also offering valuable advice and recommendations during the inspection process.

    “It is reassuring to hear that small food businesses have such a good relationship with their inspectors, as this is often their only connection with the food authorities.  The inspectors are a great source of advice for food businesses, whilst focusing on their core role of protecting public health,” said Dr Anderson.

Other main findings include:

  • 95% of small food businesses were aware of the FSAI
  • 76% of small food businesses stated that their experience of the food inspection process would not deter them from setting up another food business in the future
  • 45% of small food businesses believe that the food safety standards are stricter than they need to be
  • 97% of small food businesses that had been inspected recently for the first time understood what they needed to do and 87% felt they had access to all the information they required
  • 67% of small food businesses were aware of the FSAI website, but only 43% had visited it in the past
  • 68% of small food businesses were not aware of the FSAI advice line service and only 4% had used the service
  • Small food businesses view applications such facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as a complementary channel of communication, as opposed to an alternative mode of communication

    “With one in five (19%) of small food businesses encountering difficulties in complying with food safety regulations, the FSAI will continue to develop support materials to help food businesses with compliance.  For example, our Safe Catering Pack can be used by small catering businesses to simply and cheaply develop their own food safety management system.  However, we clearly need to work harder to make small food businesses aware of these services through our website and advice line.  So, in the coming months we will be running the second phase of our digital communications campaign which will raise awareness amongst food businesses of our Safe Catering Pack and advice line service,” added Dr Anderson.