Ten enforcements were served on seafood businesses by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) in the fourth quarter of 2022 for breaches of food safety legislation.

A total of 60 inspections were carried out over the three months. There were seven compliance notices issued, two Improvement notices and one fixed payment notice under food safety legislation and European food and feed hygiene regulations. However, no closure orders were issued over the period.

“Protecting seafood safety is a central element of our remit as an authority. Assuring consumer trust in the quality, provenance, and safety of our seafood produce, is critical to achieving the collective ambitions for the sector,” said SFPA executive chairman Paschal Hayes. “The SFPA, for its part, is committed to developing and supporting a culture of regulatory compliance across the seafood sector. The low level of non-compliance found illustrates the considerable efforts being made by seafood businesses to work within the regulations, as well as the robust inspection system in place to assure and, where necessary, to enforce compliance.”

The SFPA also confirmed a successful food safety prosecution in a case between the SFPA and Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op Society. The defendant entered a guilty plea and was fined €2,000. An order relating to costs was made in favour of the SFPA. The action came following an inspection in October, relating to the condition of parts of the food premises, failure to ensure pest control and protection against contamination, and failure to comply with procedures on traceability of raw fishery products.