Food safety institute to improve environmental health, supply chain issues

A new food safety institute has been founded in order to improve environmental health and supply chain problems.

BBC News reported that the body was launched at Queen's University in Belfast (QUB) on Thursday 14th March.

The Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) will assess quality and standards in food production and manufacture.

In January, there were widespread incidents of contaminated meat products in supermarkets and out food outlets across Europe.

The scandal primarily involved the identification of horsemeat in items labeled as beef, but also included some incidents of pork contamination.

As a result, there were questions about the environmental health standards of meat production plants and the reliability of food labeling.

Food manufacture and processing currently accounts for around 85,000 jobs in Northern Ireland and generates £5.2 billion each year for the economy.

It is hoped IGFS will help to strengthen accountability in the food chain. QUB has invested £33 million in establishing the institute.

Professor Chris Elliott, who is director of the newly-founded body, said the university wants to "build a food-fortress".

He added: "This new institute will ensure that we can continue to recruit the best students into our food programmes, creating the food-leaders of the future who have been trained in one of the world's best equipped research laboratories."

Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke launched the centre. Prior to the event, he said: "Northern Ireland can be proud that it is home to a world leading centre for the study of an issue which all of us in the food industry need to pay close attention to."

At the height of the horsemeat scandal, Tesco took out a series of adverts to reassure customers, apologising for the situation and assuring consumers it was "changing".