Should food producers fear food safety

Tim Coakley, Bantry Bay mussel grower

In 1999, Irish shellfish caused illness in continental Europe. The cause was marine biotoxins originating from red tides − a naturally occurring phenomenon worldwide. The consequences for the shellfish industry were profound: product recall and destruction, lost markets and near financial collapse. Our image as a food producer took a battering, and questions were asked about Ireland’s ability to regulate its food industry and ensure consumer safety.

The problems were a body blow to the shellfish industry. The regulation of marine biotoxins had often been the subject of bitter disputes between shellfish producers and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources as the competent authority for Ireland.

The monitoring system was the subject of a task force review in 1995 but few of the findings were implemented. The testing of shellfish and monitoring of the marine environment was outdated and inadequate for the regulation of a rapidly expanding sector. The authorities tried to respond but were hopelessly constrained by a lack of resources, personnel, equipment, scientific knowledge, and an I.T. system necessary to manage sample testing and reporting. To compound matters it was a ‘non-issue’ politically.

Consumer safety
Today, things are very different. The Irish biotoxin monitoring system is recognised as one of the best internationally, and shellfish producers are enjoying more lucrative times. So what happened to change the nightmare into a fairytale?

The answer is simple: A transformation in thinking by producers and regulators, which concluded that without guaranteed consumer safety there was nothing. The catalyst for change was the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998.

At the height of the crisis, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) assumed control of the monitoring programme. The worst fears of shellfish producers were that a food safety agency with a single-item agenda (consumer protection) would compound an already impossible situation. These fears were unfounded as events unfolded.

The FSAI embarked on a nationwide series of public meetings to hear the views of the shellfish industry. For the first time someone was listening and for the first time there were admissions of regulatory failure. There was agreement that there had to be widespread change, and recognition that the future had to include the industry as a respected and responsible partner. The future was going to be open and transparent for regulators, producers and, above all, consumers.

In the months that followed, a forum to oversee the necessary reforms met regularly to try to get to grips with the problem. Chaired by the FSAI, the forum was all-inclusive with everything on the table. The end game was to produce a biotoxin protocol for Ireland that would withstand both EU and international scrutiny and guarantee consumer protection.

Sampling sites were identified and coded for tracking purposes. Test methods were harmonised through a series of inter-laboratory calibrations. Target times were set for samples deliveries and reporting of results. The process was audited and performance reporting became mandatory.

Increased testing
In the first year the number of tests conducted increased form 900 to 3,000. In May 2001, chemical testing for biotoxin regulation was introduced, and for the first time, it was possible to measure the problem compounds in parts per million.

A national plankton surveillance programme was established to track the development of harmful algae blooms and to provide early warnings of impending red tides. The forum did not work in isolation, and often took its queue from international expertise rather than in-house judgments. Decisions were taken by reference to national and EU law.

Where inconsistencies in testing within the EU were identified they were challenged, and Ireland succeeded in getting agreement to modify EU Directives to reflect more advanced testing methods and to provide for greater harmonisation across the EU.

Trends emerged and seasonal repeatability became apparent, leading to better national and site-specific control. Relationships were established between the types and numbers of harmful plankton species in the marine environment and developing problems in the shellfish industry. The amount of data produced allowed for new and unexpected ways to manage biotoxins based on an holistic approach combining changing environmental conditions with current test results, data analysis and risk management principals. The shellfish industry bought into the principle of voluntary site closures even before regulatory thresholds had been reached.

In the process of reforming the system, lingering suspicions between regulators and industry faded. Mutual respect was established as the commitment of each side was recognised by the other.

Algae bloom behaviour
In conjunction with the reform of the regulatory system, the Marine Institute embarked on a series of research programmes, often involving international collaboration. From these emerged new information on the behavior of harmful algae blooms in Ireland’s coastal waters and worldwide. The research work fed into the regulatory information stream and as the project owner or partner, Ireland was first to benefit from the results.

Today, the reformed biotoxin monitoring system is an unexpected marketing tool. The assurances of food safety contained within the protocol document are sought after and instantly recognised by purchasing organisations.

The shellfish sector is a minnow within the Irish food industry; however its problems and reforms contain lessons for the food industry as a whole.

There are lessons too for State regulatory organisations, and questions about the suitability of departmental structures to deal with modern food safety issues.

But perhaps the greatest lesson learned is that regulation by diktat cannot guarantee consumer protection without the participation of the food industry as a responsible partner in transparent processes. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 has pointed Ireland in the right direction. Food producers have nothing to fear from food safety legislation, and consumers have everything to gain.