Vol. 521 No. 6
50 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the measures in place in relation to food safety; if he will outline the recent concerns with regard to chicken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17656/00]
Overall responsibility for co-ordinating food safety issues in Ireland is vested in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development is operating, with other State agencies under service contracts with the FSAI with regard to its food safety activities. This arrangement is working well and is contributing to the overall objective that Ireland should be at the forefront of food safety and consumer protection.
I presume the Deputy is referring to the recent campylobacter seminar hosted by the food and safety authority at Trinity College, at which scientific experts drew attention to the high levels of campylobacter infection in Ireland. Among the identified causes of this infection is the consumption of undercooked chicken.
While there are high levels of campylobacter in raw chicken, cooking kills this bacteria. It is therefore important that chicken should be well-cooked before consumption and that care is taken to avoid transferring the germs to other cooked foods or non cooked foods.
