Tirlán colleagues participated in this year’s Food Safety Day in a number of creative ways

Did you know that foodborne diseases affect one in 10 people worldwide each year?

The WHO’s World Food Safety Day was celebrated on June 7th every year aims to draw attention to the relationship between food safety and food security, where one cannot exist without the other.  Only safe food can meet nutritional needs.

Tirlán recognised this annual event by celebrating Food and Feed Safety Week (June 4th to 7th). There was fantastic engagement from Tirlán colleagues online and across several sites.  Presentations were made by external professionals from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, ISS Pest Control and Southeastern Technological University.  Tirlán colleagues also shared their knowledge and experience in key elements of hygienic design, regulatory compliance, supply chain risk assessment and food safety culture development.

On World Food Safety Day, Dr. Joseph Hannon of Food Safety Authority of Ireland presented to our teams on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Food.  This overview gave great insight into what chemicals are of concern in food products – now and into the future.

In addition to the insights provided by food safety experts, Operation Site teams engaged in many creative ways, including interactive demonstrations, food safety quizzes, foreign body memory games, best practice for plant cleaning, personal hygiene, and reiterating the importance of maintaining foreign body and pest control safeguards.

Billy Carr, Food and Feed Safety Risk Manager, reflected on the success of the initiative. “Tirlán colleagues have demonstrated a keen interest to both listen and share their experiences in topics of food and feed safety concern during the week.  Being alert to food and feed safety hazards allows us to prepare for the unexpected – and respond quickly to threats and incidents before they become Food Safety emergencies.  This is the third year of Tirlán’s celebrations, and it is heartening to see the ongoing commitment of our teams to protect our consumers, products and brand reputation from preventable Food Safety issues.”