The number of food safety and authenticity inspectors have fallen dramatically in Northern Ireland over the past decade according to a major new food security report.
The Government report looked at everything from the impacts of the climate crisis to nature loss and water insecurity on food production as well as food hygiene and standards across Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
Just 11 years on from the horse meat scandal that shook the food industry, the probe found the number of full time food hygiene inspectors across England, Wales and NI have declined by an average of 11.7% from 2010/2011 to 2023/24, while there's been an average "40.5% decline in allocated food standards FTEs between 2011/12 and 2023/24".
We asked the Food Standards Agency for the specific Northern Ireland figures. According to stats provided to Belfast Live there were 87 full time equivalent food hygiene workers in local authorities across Northern Ireland in 2010-2011 but over this years this has fallen to 61 in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, the number of full time food standards workers has also dropped 58% from 73 in 2010-2011 to just 30 in the last financial year.
According to the Government's food security report: "The food chain relies on qualified and experienced local authority staff to conduct inspections and work with businesses to ensure that they are operating in accordance with the law and that the food they are placing on the market is safe and meets legal requirements with regard to compositional standards, nutritional content, and labelling.
"Local authorities provide a critical line of defence in enforcing safety and standards regulations, and in identifying and tackling food crime. These activities help to keep consumers safe and maintain their confidence in our food system. The FSA and FSS have highlighted concerns about shortages of local authority food hygiene and food standards officers."
Other issues raised in the report include the "long term decline in the UK’s natural capital [as] a pressing risk to UK food production".
It stated: "Climate change, nature loss and water insecurity pose significant risks to the ability of global food production to meet demand over the longer term".
The report highlighted how "water body status has stagnated in Northern Ireland during the past few years".
It added: "In 2015, 32% of Northern Ireland’s surface waters were at ‘good or better’ ecological status compared to 31 % in 2021."
The agricultural sector was highlighted as both the "largest consumer of water" and "one of the leading sectors affecting water quality, with pollution from agriculture and rural land affecting 40% of water bodies" which could impact "farming, food production and food safety".
The report states there is "limited evidence on the impact of the use of polluted water in the food supply system and implications for food security and human health".
But it also outlined how "farming contributes to poor water quality through excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen... [and] other chemicals including veterinary medicines, pesticides and ‘emerging chemicals’, faecal bacteria and pathogens (predominantly from livestock), soil sediment (from both arable and livestock farming), and micro-plastics (present in sewage sludge, compost and other organic manures)."
"Addressing pollution and improving water quality is a policy objective," it concluded.
In terms of climate change, issues raised included "new weather patterns such as extreme droughts that cause unpredictable issues for water sources that have previously been reliable. Wetter winters and more frequent, heavier storms are leading to more flooding and more pollutants being washed off fields and urban areas".
It said projections also from the Environment Agency in 2020 "show rivers could have 50 to 80% less water in summertime by 2050 from drier summers. Drought could harm ecology and reduce the natural resilience of our rivers, wetlands and aquifers. This has the potential to damage water supply infrastructure and lead to interruptions in supply".
Joss MacDonald, Public Affairs Lead, The Food Foundation, said: "Our food security is being increasingly threatened by extreme weather events and damage to the natural world which are affecting harvests in both the UK and further afield.
"It is now abundantly clear that serious action is needed to strengthen food security at both a national and household level. That is why we are looking forward to working with the Government to produce and deliver their new National Food Strategy to ensure that everybody in our society can access affordable healthy food."
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