The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has formally launched its new membership organisation the Institute of Food Safety, Integrity & Protection (IFSIP) at the House of Commons this week.

Professor Chris Elliott, professor of food safety and director of the Institute for Global Food Security, and chair of the IFSIP Advisory Board spoke at the launch  on the role that IFSIP can perform over the weeks and months ahead.

IFSIP is a venture focused on enabling collaboration across the food industry in the UK and internationally to include local and central government, industry, academia, professional bodies and trade associations.

IFSIP membership will offer knowledge and good practice, professional membership grades, collaboration and networking, and events.

The launch event was hosted by Sir Kevin Barron, MP, who is a Vice President of the CIEH and Head of IFSIP, Jenny Morris, MBE.

IFSIP will represent the growing community of people who work in food safety throughout the food chain. This new membership organisation will be of specific interest to anyone specialising in food safety who are not currently CIEH members.

CIEH Chief Executive Graham Jukes, OBE, said: ‘IFSIP is a food safety specialist membership organisation for the public good supported and run by the CIEH under its charitable objectives.

‘Modern food production, manufacture and delivery systems to the consumer are increasingly complex and that was illustrated by the horsemeat problems we experienced last year, highlighted by the Elliott Review interim report.

‘We have created a much broader professional body that seeks to engage with all those who work with food safety and integrity throughout the food chain.

‘The CIEH and IFSIP will work with government agencies, regulators, the food industry and other professional bodies to support the coordination of good practice and standards in an ever changing world.’

Professor Elliott’s independent review into the integrity and assurance of food supply networks commissioned by the government will be published soon.