More than 40,000 food business are to be given information on new EU food hygiene laws which came into force this month.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has published an information pack to help food businesses comply with the new regulations.
Under the new law, all food business operators, except primary producers, must implement procedures based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) principles to ensure the production of safe food and help to protect consumer health.
FSAI chief executive Dr John O'Brien the new comprehensive food law encompasses 17 pieces of old legislation, some dating back over 40 years, which led to some inconsistencies and difficulties of understanding.
"The new legislation brings together all the various regulations and assembles them out more clearly for food businesses to understand, he said.
"The underlying premise of the law now very clearly states that it is the legal duty of food business operators to produce food safely. This series of leaflets for food business operators is to present the legislation in simple terms and enable them to better understand the comprehensive range of legislation impacting on their businesses."
Further information is available on the FSAI website at www.fsai.ie