The European Communities (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. No. 165 of 2000) gives effect to EU Directive 93/43/EEC on the hygiene of foodstuffs. Regulation 4 of the Regulations puts an onus on proprietors of food businesses to develop a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points – HACCP – system for their business. Under the regulations proprietors of food businesses must ensure that their businesses are operated in a hygienic way. Proprietors are also obliged to identify steps in the activities of their business which are critical to ensuring food safety and ensure that adequate safety procedures are identified, implemented and reviewed.
Since July 1999, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland – FSAI – is responsible for the enforcement of all food safety legislation in Ireland, including those regulations dealing with food hygiene. The FSAI carries out its functions by means of "service contracts" with a range of official agencies, for example, health boards, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. The FSAI meets with health boards on a regular basis to monitor the implementation of the European Communities (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2000.