Irish Food Businesses Face Increased Scrutiny as Breaches Rise
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported a concerning increase in enforcement orders issued to food businesses for breaches of food safety legislation. In 2024, a total of 133 enforcement orders were served, marking a substantial 45% rise compared to the 92 orders issued in 2023. These orders, which include closure orders, prohibition orders, and improvement orders, are only issued when there is a serious risk to consumer health or significant hygiene and operational issues.
Common reasons for these enforcement actions include a lack of pest control procedures, inadequate cleaning, failure to maintain correct foodstuff temperatures, unsuitable food storage facilities, and insufficient staff training in food safety and hygiene. For instance, recent inspections in June 2026 alone led to 13 Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order, revealing issues such as pest infestations (including live cockroaches, slugs, spiders, and woodlice), rodent droppings, inadequate handwashing facilities, and poor cleaning standards like mouldy chopping boards and grease-coated equipment.
Consumer complaints also saw an upward trend, with the FSAI's Advice Line handling almost 5,000 complaints in 2024, an increase from 4,395 in 2023. The most frequent complaints concerned unfit food (32%), suspected food poisoning (29%), and poor hygiene standards. Examples of unfit food included foreign objects like plastic, insects, hair, glass, metal, and stones. Suspected food poisoning cases also rose, with 1,449 reports in 2024 compared to 23.3% of complaints in 2023.
The FSAI's 2024 annual report also revealed a rise in food incidents, recalls, and enforcement actions, with 796 incidents dealt with by the food incidents team, up from 733 in 2023. Nearly 500 of these were categorised as serious. Serious public health threats included Salmonella in duck eggs, norovirus in oysters, and multiple E. coli outbreaks. In 2025, an adult died with listeriosis as part of an extensive outbreak that led to the voluntary precautionary recall of 141 ready-made products sold in major retailers including Tesco, SuperValu, Centra, and Aldi.
UK Strengthens COSHH Guidance Amid Persistent Workplace Ill-Health
In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has intensified its focus on compliance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002. This comes amid persistent concerns regarding workplace exposure to chemicals and hazardous substances, which contribute to thousands of occupational ill-health cases annually. Recent HSE statistics indicate that approximately 13,000 deaths a year in Great Britain are linked to past workplace exposure to hazardous substances, primarily chemicals and dust.
Furthermore, around 1.9 million workers were suffering from work-related ill health in 2024/25. The estimated annual cost of workplace injuries and new cases of work-related ill health reached £22.9 billion in 2023/24. The HSE has reiterated and updated its guidance on COSHH, urging businesses to review and enhance their procedures for managing hazardous substances. This updated guidance aims to simplify compliance, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), by providing clearer directives on risk assessment, control measures, and health surveillance.
The 2026 update to EH40 introduces revised Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) for several commonly used substances, including silica, wood dust, isocyanates, and diesel engine exhaust emissions. Employers must ensure their COSHH assessments reflect the latest WELs and that control measures are adequate to prevent exposures exceeding these limits. Failure to comply with COSHH regulations can result in HSE enforcement action, including Improvement Notices, Prohibition Notices, and prosecution, with substantial fines imposed on employers.
Related training: If you are looking to qualify as a trainer in this area, see conflict management trainer courses or explore fire safety instructor training for nationally recognised UK and Ireland qualifications.
RIDDOR Statistics Highlight Ongoing Challenges in UK Workplace Safety
The latest provisional figures for 2024/25 reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) indicate 124 worker fatalities in Great Britain, a decrease from 138 in 2023/24. However, these figures remain broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels. There were also 92 deaths of members of the public in work-related incidents in 2024/25, an increase from 87 the previous year.
Non-fatal injuries to employees reported by employers under RIDDOR in 2024/25 stood at 59,219, the second-lowest figure on record, representing a rate of 209 injuries per 100,000 employees. This continues a long-term downward trend in employer-reported incident rates. Despite this, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicates a significantly higher number of self-reported non-fatal injuries, with 680,000 in the same period, highlighting a reporting gap.
The most common types of non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR in 2023-2024 were slips, trips, and falls (31%), handling, lifting, or carrying (17%), and being struck by an object (10%). These five injury types accounted for 79% of all non-fatal injuries reported. Falls from a height continue to be the main cause of work-related fatal injury, accounting for over a quarter of fatal injuries to workers in 2024/25.
The HSE uses RIDDOR data to identify trends and patterns in workplace incidents and develop strategies to improve workplace safety. Employers are legally obliged to report certain types of workplace incidents, including fatal and major injuries, injuries causing more than seven days of absence, dangerous occurrences, and work-related diseases.
For businesses seeking to ensure their staff are fully compliant with the latest food safety and COSHH regulations, Abertay Training offers a range of accredited courses designed to meet UK and Irish standards. More information can be found at https://www.abertaytraining.co.uk.