The Chairman, Mr Martin Higgins and the CEO, Dr Pamela Byrne of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today welcomed the appointment of Professor Francis Butler, Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan and Mr Gerry McCurdy to the Board. Professor Butler and Mr McCurdy have been appointed with immediate effect, while Dr Foley-Nolan will take her seat at the board in November.
Professor Butler is a Professor at the University College Dublin (UCD) Centre for Food Safety. He is Head of Subject in Biosystems Engineering at UCD. His main research is in food safety, with a particular focus on traceability systems and quantitative risk assessment of microbiological and chemical hazards in foods. Professor Butler coordinates the UCD MSc in Food Safety and Risk Analysis. Prior to joining UCD, Professor Butler’s career was production management in the Irish dairy industry.
Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan is a Consultant in Public Health Medicine. She has worked as Director of Human Health and Nutrition at safefood and as Specialist in Public Health Medicine at the Health Service Executive. Dr Foley-Nolan has a medical degree from University College Cork (UCC); a Master’s in Public Health from University College Dublin and is a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.
Mr Gerry McCurdy has over 40 years’ experience working in a regulatory environment dealing with food safety, public health and consumer protection. He qualified as an environmental health officer at the University of Ulster and holds a Master of Science degree. During his career, he has held a number of senior positions in local and central government and was instrumental in setting up of the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the appointments, Mr Martin Higgins stated: “The cumulative experience and knowledge of our new Board members will be a great asset to our strategic planning and will assist us further to continue to deliver on our five-year strategy. It is notable that the acumen of these individuals will be brought to our Board’s deliberations in this, the FSAI’s 20th anniversary. Their combined knowledge and skillset will add to our work to ensure that the FSAI continues to be an exemplary State agency seeking to protect consumer health in relation to food.”
