Joint Committees of the Oireachtais comprise members of Dáil Select Committees and Seanad Select Committees and were set up to consider legislative and other matters pertaining to individual Ministerial Departments.

Matters to be considered by these Committees may range from proposed national and EU legislation, policy matters and management and functions of public bodies under the aegis of individual Departments. Matters of consideration may also be referred from either the Dáil or Seanad and Joint Committees may make recommendations to Ministers.

Committees with relevance to the area of food safety are the Joint Committees on Health and Children, and Enterprise and Small Business.

Joint Committee on Health and Children

The Joint Committee on Health and Children requested a briefing on a proposed European Council Decision for the placing on the market of genetically modified (GM) sweetcorn (Bt11 maize) as a novel food ingredient under Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council. This food is a sweet variety of maize that was crossed with a field maize variety that had been genetically engineered to resist attack by the European corn borer and also tolerate treatment with a specific herbicide. By authorising this GM maize the Commission was effectively ending an unofficial EU moratorium on the authorisation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This de facto moratorium had been in place since October 1998 when a number of Member States decided to resist authorisation of any new GM products until such time as stricter legislation was in place in the EU. New legislation on GM food and feed came into effect in the EU in April 2004 and requires that any food or ingredient with a GM content greater than 0.9% must be labelled accordingly while the authorisation process requires a safety assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. Under associated traceability and labelling legislation, all products with a GM content above the labelling threshold must be traceable.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is the Competent Authority for novel and GM foods in Ireland, while the Department of Health and Children is responsible for policy matters. The Committee briefing was requested as a result of the anticipated authorisation by the European Commission of a GM variety of sweetcorn despite the fact that the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers failed to achieve a qualified majority at a previous meeting. One member of the Dáil had expressed dissatisfaction that an unelected body, the European Commission, could authorise a new GM food even though it had not received political agreement at EU level. The Food Unit at the Department of Health and Children, with assistance from the FSAI, had prepared a briefing document for the Committee with some background information on GMOs and related EU authorisation procedures. The FSAI assisted the Department at the briefing by answering technical questions on GMOs, GM foods along with the status of GM foods on the Irish market and how the situation was monitored.

Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business

The Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business requested a briefing on a proposed Regulation on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.  The FSAI assisted the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on technical and scientific matters.  The proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council applies to all materials and articles that are intended to come into contact with foodstuffs, including packaging materials but also cutlery, dishes, processing machines, containers, etc.  In order to protect consumers' health, it is important that the materials are safe and do not transfer their components into the foodstuff in unacceptable quantities.

The Regulation replaces the current Council Directive, 89/109/EEC, and takes account of technological changes since that was introduced. The issue that has attracted most attention was the inclusion of active packaging systems in the Regulation’s scope. These are packaging systems that are designed to interact with the packaged food by, for example, controlling the moisture levels in the pack or releasing permitted food additives to prolong shelf life and improve product quality. At present such systems may not comply with the legislation which requires that food contact materials be inert.

Some examples of the emerging technologies include:

·         Oxygen-scavenging packaging. Some US companies have begun packaging fruit juices and other oxygen-sensitive drinks in single-serve PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles that are made from a resin blended with an oxygen-absorbing substance.

·         Ethanol-release from sachet which is included in a food package. Ethanol vapour is released and permeates the sachet into the food package headspace. This system is approved in Japan to extend the mould-free shelf life of various cakes.

·         Packaging for fruit such as grapes that releases low levels of sulphur dioxide to control mould growth.

·         Sachets containing iron powder and calcium hydroxide which scavenge both oxygen and carbon dioxide. These sachets are used to extend the shelf life of ground coffee.

'Intelligent packaging' is designed to react to changes in the food or the atmosphere around it to provide useful information to the consumer, for example, time/temperature indicators that could warn consumers of frozen foods that have not been stored at the required temperature.