THE newly established Food Safety Board of Ireland has been criticised for its failure to include representatives of the food industry.
Mr Ciaran Fitzgerald, director of the Food, Drink and Tobacco Industry Federation, said that the board risked a "confrontational dimension" to its activities because of the lack of industry representation.
"We're extremely disappointed that there is not a food industry representative on the board," said Mr Fitzgerald. "Food safety is a big issue for the food industry and it's better all round that we be involved with the board.
"We have participated on the Food Safety Advisory Board and we would argue that the industry has not only an interest but a huge amount of expertise in consumer safety, consumer confidence and food regulations."
He described the members of the board as very competent" but said that for the whole process to work and for the board to be truly balanced then industry also needed to be represented.
The Director of Consumer Affairs, Mr William Fagan, who is a member of the board, said he had only agreed to participate if the board was genuinely independent and had a strong consumer representation.
"My view is that I am happy with this board and its membership, so those two conditions have been fulfilled," he said.
"This is genuinely a board which is independent of the food industry. It's actually in their interest that this board is independent of them, since it has to be seen by the consumer to be apart from the food industry."
Mr Fagan said he had also joined the board on condition that its members would be involved in drafting the necessary legislation. "I would not be involved with a board that was just another quango under any circumstances, but you're only as strong as your legal powers," he said.
The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Donnelly, wished the new board well and said that its effectiveness would be judged over time.
He said that farmers had nothing to hide and were fully committed to restoring full consumer confidence through quality assurance.
Mr Eugene Kierans, spokesman for the Irish Master Butchers Federation, welcomed the board as a great move forward" at a time of considerable public uncertainty. "We need someone out there who will kick backsides when they need to be kicked and who will be seen by the consumer to be impartial of the farming agencies, the professors and the manufacturers."
Mr Kierans said that butchers had been "targeted" unfairly in the recent scare over beef quality. "There is a perception out there that the Consumers' Association understands the consumer and that we are looking at the consumer as someone to be hoodwinked," said Mr Kierans.
"The concern for the consumer lies with us as well. As family butchers we don't do anything else for a living and we don't have the fall back on other products when times get rough, so we welcome anything which gives reassurance to the consumer.
The Irish Co operative Organisation Society also expressed its surprise at the exclusion of the food industry from the board.
"While the board must be independent, it must effectively reassure the public about the safety of Irish food," said ICOS director general, Mr John Tyrrell. While the board must be independent, he said, it would benefit from the knowledge and experience which an industry representative could bring to the table.