The minutes of the meeting of the Scientific Committee on Monday, 14 October 2024 at 10.30.
Attendance
Members Present
- Martin Cormican (Chair) (MC)
- Andrew Flanagan (AF)
- Ann Marie Part (AMP)
- Anne Molloy (AM)
- Dagmar Stengel (DS)
- Dolores O’Riordan (DOR)
- Geraldine Duffy (GD)
- Kevin Cashman (KC)
- Lois O’Connor (LOC)
- Montserrat Gutierrez (MG)
- Séamus Fanning (SF)
FSAI Staff Present
- Wayne Anderson (WA)
- Pat O’Mahony (POM)
- Karl McDonald (KMcD)
- Micheál O’Mahony (MOM)
- Rob Phillips (RP)
- Chloe Glennon (CG)
- Judith Giles (JG)
Apologies
- Alan Kelly (AK)
- Ita Kinahan (IK)
- Mark Fenelon (MF)
- Lisa O’Connor (LiOC)
- Mary Flynn (MFl)
1. Disclosures of Interest
The Chair welcomed the members to the meeting. There were no disclosures of interest.
2. Matters Arising from the Meeting Minutes of 14 May 2024
The Analytical Methods report was signed off electronically on 13 August. The Board gave its approval for publication in September and the report will be published shortly.
3. Update from Biological Safety Subcommittee
GD noted that the Biological Safety Subcommittee met in person on 20 September last to progress the work of the two RfAs.
Draft Report on Risk Ranking of Microbiological Hazards
The draft report was circulated to the members and CG joined the meeting to present an update on progress to date:
- An expert opinion meeting to estimate the underreporting factors for certain foodborne diseases was held on 25 June. It was attended by seven external participants with technical expertise in public health.
- Input data has been collated for six of the seven hazards. The experts suggested setting different norovirus underreporting factors for two settings: (1) hospital/healthcare settings (2) community settings. The Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) have been calculated for six hazards and the outcomes are being analysed. The DALYs for campylobacteriosis were shown to the committee as an example.
- The next step is to estimate the total burden of illness attributed to food. This will be done by an expert elicitation (EE) exercise using a two-round Delphi approach. The materials include the EE questionnaire, a self-assessment of expertise, and a calibration questionnaire. The first round involves issuing the questionnaire electronically (this year) and the second round involves a discussion at a face-to-face meeting (next year).
There was a discussion on the work and the following was noted:
- Criteria have been documented to identify suitable experts. More experts than needed will be invited to participate in case some cannot attend on the day. The experts will be from Ireland as they must have a good understanding of the Irish food and public health system.
- Two disease models will be used for norovirus and the outputs will be combined. A higher proportion of cases are diagnosed in healthcare settings.
- It is important for data gaps and research needs to be captured in the report so that uncertainty in estimates can be reduced in the future.
The Scientific Committee was encouraged to review the current draft of the report and provide feedback.
Actions:
- JG to recirculate the link to the risk ranking draft report.
- Members to review the report and add comments.
Hepatitis E in Pigs and Pigmeat WG
MOM noted that the WG, chaired by Helen O’Shea, has met four times. Significant work has been done on describing the issue and context in an Introduction/Background section. The work is advancing well, and it is intended that the final report will be relatively short and concise, focused on the questions asked rather than a general review of the topic.
4. Update from PHN Subcommittee
KC noted that the work was delayed this year with staff and student changes. The focus is on dietary modelling for boys this year and the draft report will be updated with the results. An early draft will be sent to the Scientific Committee in Q1 next year to show progress made to date. A joint meeting of the WG and subcommittee is scheduled for 5 November to provide feedback on the modelling work.
5. Update from Chemical Safety Subcommittee
AF thanked KMcD and Joe Hannon (FSAI) for their all work. Updates on the RfAs were provided:
Dioxins & PCBs WG
Comments have been received on the draft report from Veterinary Public Health staff in FSAI. It has been agreed that a full review of the report will be completed by Q4 by KMcD, and any follow-up work will be done in Q1 2025. The aim is to have a final draft to the Scientific Committee by Q2.
Total Diet Study (TDS) and Biomarkers Working Group (WG)
The groups work on the TDS was completed in 2023 and the work on biomarkers is in progress. There have been two meetings of the Biomarkers WG this year chaired by Breige McNulty. As a basis for the biomarkers list, the WG has considered the lists already developed by the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) and Partnership for Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC). Many of the limiting/constraining factors outlined in the RfA have already been thoroughly considered by HBM4EU and PARC when developing their lists and therefore have not been further considered by the WG. The relevance to food/beverages as a route of exposure has been considered as one of the inclusion criteria. Biomarkers and substances with relevance for other areas (e.g. consumer products) outside the FSAI remit have been excluded. The availability of human biomonitoring thresholds or reference points on which to base a risk assessment has also been used as an inclusion criterion. The next meeting takes place on 16 October and the aim is to finalise the work this year.
6. Update from Food Hygiene Rating Systems Subcommittee
DOR noted that the first meeting of this subcommittee was held on 30 Sept. A document which included a detailed literature review was prepared by Kristin Anderson, SFI fellow seconded to FSAI, in advance of the meeting and provides information on schemes being used around the world. There are challenges to implementing a system and the subcommittee will hear from a range of experts who have different experiences of such systems. The main focus of the work is on the efficacy of these systems. The group will meet every month up to May. It was noted that the Food Safety Consultative Council (FSCC) will carry out some work separately on the industry perspective of FHRS. The two mandates do not overlap.
7. Correspondence
There was no correspondence received.
8. AOB
WA reminded the members that the term of the committee runs up to 25 February 2026. The committee will aim to complete work in progress by the end of 2025. The committee will not commence any additional work unless urgent, as carrying over work from one committee to the next is not ideal. The Chair advised that more meetings may be required next year to ensure the work is finished. In addition, the selection process for the next Scientific Committee will also start next year.
Action:
- WA to draft a timetable of the work due for completion in 2025.
9. Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for 9 December. Members views will be sought to decide if this will be an in person meeting. The Chair thanked everyone for their attendance.