FSAI Advice Line Received 9,882 Complaints and Queries in 2025

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed that its Advice Line handled a total of 9,882 complaints and queries in 2025, with unfit food and poor hygiene standards the most common issues raised by consumers.

Announcing the figures today, the FSAI confirmed that 6,135 of these were complaints from consumers, while 3,747 were queries from people working in the food industry, including caterers, food manufacturers, retailers, and others.

Of the consumer complaints, 33% related to unfit food and 28% concerned poor hygiene standards. The total of 6,135 consumer complaints in 2025 represents a 23% increase on the 4,996 complaints recorded the previous year, continuing an upward trend seen over the past decade. All complaints received by the FSAI in 2025 were followed up and investigated by food inspectors throughout the country.

Unfit food, meaning food that is not safe to eat, was the most frequently reported complaint in 2025. This also includes contamination with a foreign object. Commonly reported foreign objects included plastic, a battery, insects or caterpillar, slug and fingernail. Specific examples cited by the FSAI included a fingernail found in a cake, a staple found in an Indian meal, a battery found in a pack of almonds, a fly floating in a milk bottle, a slug in a noodle dish, and a live moth in a bag of salad.

The second most frequently reported category related to poor hygiene standards. Common complaints included rodents spotted in food businesses, staff not wearing appropriate clothing, poor personal hygiene with staff not changing gloves often enough, staff not washing hands, staff smoking in their aprons, and food not being stored correctly with fridges and freezers not cold enough.

Suspected food poisoning was the third most frequently reported category, accounting for 26% of total complaints in 2025, down from 29% in 2024.

The full breakdown of complaints for 2025 was as follows: unfit food, 2,030; hygiene standards, 1,693; suspected food poisoning, 1,570; labelling, 656; allergen information, 150; and others, 36.

Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI:

"Public reporting of food safety concerns plays a vital role in supporting the work of the food safety inspectorate and is an important part of how we protect public health. We greatly value the contribution of consumers in bringing potential issues to our attention, as these reports provide essential information that complements the work of Environmental Health Officers, veterinary and agricultural inspectors, sea-fisheries officers, and laboratory services.

While routine inspections and food sampling programmes remain a core part of our regulatory activity, complaints allow us to quickly identify and respond to specific risks, ensuring that any potential threats to food safety are addressed without delay. The continued increase in engagement reflects growing consumer awareness and confidence in reporting issues, as well as a strong expectation that high standards of food safety and hygiene are consistently maintained across the food chain. In particular, we have seen a significant rise in complaints relating to unfit food and poor hygiene standards, and we would like to thank the public for their continued vigilance in helping us address these issues."

The FSAI Advice Line also offers advice and information. During 2025, there were 3,747 queries from people working in the food industry, including caterers, food manufacturers, retailers, and others. Popular topics included how to start a food business, food labelling information, best practice in food businesses, food safety training, and several others.

Members of the public can contact the FSAI Advice Line through its online complaint form, makeitbetter, or through its online query form. The FSAI's Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn pages are also resources with up-to-date information on food safety.