New FSAI chief

Dr Pamela Byrne has been appointed Chief Executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and will take up office in March following the retirement of Prof Alan Reilly.

Pamela is currently Director of Regulatory Policy and Intelligence with Abbott Nutrition. Having previously held senior positions in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, she has extensive experience of the food regulatory environment as well as expertise in risk assessment and food safety management at both national and international levels.

A native of Cork, she holds a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from University College Cork, an MSc in Aquatic Resource Management from University of London Kings College, a BSc in Zoology from UCC and a Higher Diploma in Environmental Law from the University of Aberystwyth in Wales.

During her time at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, she gained a deep knowledge of the food sector as an environmental toxicologist and risk assessor and was instrumental in developing Ireland’s research and innovation policy programmes in relation to food and the bio-economy. She also worked in the Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.

Pamela currently Chairs the EU’s Joint Programming Initiative ‘A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life’ and the Strategic Advisory Board of the Institute of Food and Health in University College, Dublin.

Last November Ireland was ranked in joint-first place with Canada out of 16 OECD countries for its food safety processes and performances.