Food Safety Study Guide (Ireland) 2026

Food law and who enforces it

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) oversees the enforcement of food law in Ireland. Inspections of most restaurants, cafés, takeaways and shops are carried out by environmental health officers (EHOs) from the HSE. Where they find serious problems, enforcement orders such as Closure Orders, Improvement Orders and Prohibition Orders can be served, and the FSAI publishes them.

Ireland follows EU food law. The main hygiene rules are in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. The FSAI sums up a business's duties simply: you must follow the allergen rules, ensure food safety and hygiene, maintain a food safety management system based on HACCP, and have a traceability system. Under food law, the business is responsible for making sure the food it produces is safe to eat.

Key duties of a food business

Notify the competent authority (for most caterers, the HSE Environmental Health Service) so the business can be registered before it opens.
Make sure food handlers are supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene to suit their work.
Train the people who run the HACCP-based system in HACCP principles.
Keep traceability records: who supplied the food and who it was supplied to.
Build a good food safety culture, where everyone puts food safety first.

Food hazards and bacteria

Food can be made unsafe in four main ways:

Microbiological: bacteria, viruses, moulds and parasites, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and norovirus.
Chemical: cleaning products, pest control chemicals and other substances.
Physical: objects such as glass, metal, plasters, hair and packaging.
Allergenic: one of the 14 allergens getting into food where it should not be.

Most food poisoning bacteria need food, moisture, warmth and time to multiply. In warm conditions they can double in number very quickly. Some bacteria form spores that survive cooking, and some make toxins that reheating may not destroy. Listeria can even grow slowly at fridge temperatures, so chilled ready-to-eat foods must be kept cold and used within their shelf life.

High-risk foods are ready-to-eat foods in which bacteria grow easily, such as cooked meats, cooked rice, dairy desserts, shellfish and egg dishes. They will not be cooked again before they are eaten, so they must be protected from contamination and kept at the right temperature.

Training

Food law does not name one compulsory certificate for food handlers. It requires them to be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene in a way that fits their job. A kitchen porter, a chef and a manager will need different levels of training. Many employers use courses from training providers, and the FSAI offers free resources on its Learning Portal.

Training is ongoing. Staff need refresher training, and training whenever their job or the menu changes, for example when new allergen dishes are added.

New staff should get basic hygiene instruction before they start handling food, and be supervised until they are trained.
Supervisors and managers need deeper training, because they check that others follow the rules.
Keep a record of the training each person has had. The Safe Catering Pack includes forms for recording training.

HACCP and the Safe Catering Pack

Food businesses must put in place and maintain procedures based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point). The seven principles are:

Identify the hazards.
Identify the critical control points (CCPs), such as cooking and cooling.
Set critical limits, such as a minimum core cooking temperature.
Monitor each CCP, for example by probing food.
Take corrective action when a limit is not met, for example by cooking for longer.
Verify that the system works, and review it when things change.
Keep documents and records.

The FSAI's Safe Catering Pack is a user-friendly approach to HACCP for caterers. It helps you find what could go wrong at each stage and put controls in place. It includes recording forms and checklists for checks, training and allergen management, and a Declaration of Completion and Review that must be filled in and signed. Newer sections cover allergens, acrylamide, food safety culture, food donations and water supply.

Temperature control

Bacteria multiply quickly in warm food. Keeping food very cold or very hot, and cooking it thoroughly, keeps it safe.

Step	Temperature commonly used in Ireland
Chilled storage	5°C or below
Frozen storage	−18°C or colder
Cooking	Core temperature of 75°C, or an equivalent safe time and temperature
Hot holding	63°C or above

The cold chain must not be broken. Short periods out of the fridge are allowed only when needed for preparation, transport, display or service and there is no risk to health.
Food that will be served chilled must be cooled as quickly as possible after cooking: use shallow containers and small portions.
Thaw food in a way that keeps the risk low, such as in the fridge, and drain away thaw liquid.

Probe the centre of the thickest part of the food.

The probe tip in the centre of the thickest part.
A bone, which the probe must not touch.
The tray, which the probe must not touch.
Read the display once the number stops changing.

Checking and recording temperatures

Temperature checks are a key part of a HACCP-based system. Check fridges, freezers and hot holding equipment regularly, probe cooked food, and write the results on your recording forms. If a reading is wrong, take corrective action straight away: for example, move food from a fridge that is running warm, keep cooking food that has not reached its core temperature, and tell your manager. Reheat food thoroughly so it is piping hot all the way through, and never reheat food in hot holding equipment, which heats too slowly.

Personal hygiene and fitness to work

Everyone in a food-handling area must keep a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear suitable, clean protective clothing.

Rub hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, rinse and dry well.

Wet both hands under running water.
Add soap.
Rub all parts of the hands for at least 20 seconds.
Rinse under running water.
Dry hands with a disposable towel.
Use the towel to turn off the tap.

Wash hands before work, after breaks, after using the toilet, after handling raw food or waste, and after cleaning.
Handwash basins must have hot and cold running water and materials for washing and drying hands. Where needed, food must be washed in a separate sink.
Gloves do not replace handwashing. Wash first and change gloves between tasks.
Cover hair and remove jewellery that could fall into food.

Illness

Anyone with an illness that could be passed on through food, or with symptoms such as diarrhoea, infected wounds, skin infections or sores, must report it to the business immediately and must not handle food or enter food areas if there is any chance of contaminating food.

Cross-contamination and storage

Keep raw food and ready-to-eat food, and the tools used for them, apart.

A red board and knife for raw chicken only.
A green board and separate knife for salad only.
Raw chicken, its juices and its knife must never reach the salad.

Ready-to-eat food goes on top; raw poultry on the bottom shelf.

Ready-to-eat food, such as sandwiches, salad and fruit.
Dairy, such as milk, cheese and yoghurt.
Cooked food in covered containers.
Raw fish on a tray.
Raw meat on a tray.
Raw poultry on a tray on the bottom shelf.

Respect use-by dates: after the date, highly perishable food is considered unsafe.
Rotate stock so older food is used first.
Store chemicals labelled and in separate, secure containers, away from food.

Allergens

EU law lists 14 allergens that must be declared: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts.

For food that is not prepacked, such as restaurant meals, allergen information must be available for every dish. Irish rules in S.I. No. 489 of 2014 set out how this is done, and the information must be available in writing, for example on a menu or an allergen chart.

Never guess. Check recipes and labels, and keep the allergen information up to date when recipes or suppliers change.
Clean utensils and surfaces, and wash hands, before preparing an allergen-free dish.
Do not share fryer oil between battered or breaded foods and dishes that must be free of gluten.
Store allergen ingredients in closed, labelled containers.
If a customer has trouble breathing after eating, call 112 or 999.

Cleaning, waste and pests

Use two-stage cleaning: first remove dirt and grease with detergent, then apply a disinfectant for its full contact time. Follow a cleaning schedule and clean as you go.

Food law requires adequate procedures to control pests. Look for droppings, gnaw marks and damaged packaging, and report them at once.
Remove food waste from food rooms as quickly as possible and keep it in closable containers.
Keep doors closed or screened and seal gaps.

Inspections and exam tips

During an inspection, an environmental health officer may look at how food is stored, cooked, cooled and served, check handwashing facilities, cleaning and pest control, and ask to see your HACCP-based records, such as temperature logs and training records. Be honest and helpful, and tell your manager about any problem you notice.

Learn the key temperatures: 5°C, −18°C, 75°C and 63°C.
Know the seven HACCP principles in order.
Know the 14 allergens and that allergen information for non-prepacked food must be in writing.
Remember who to tell: report illness and problems to the business straight away.