Irish Food Research Articles

John and Sally McKenna: The Bridgestone Irish Food Guide

John and Sally McKenna: The Bridgestone Irish Food Guide, 2nd edn: Estragon Press (4 Halliday Square, Dublin 7), 1991: 288 pp, maps, b/w mood-setting illustrations by Ken Buggy, full index, paperback, £9.95.

Impact of Brexit and Subsequent Food Regulatory Divergence on the Irish Food and Drink Industry

On 24 June 2016, the majority of the UK voted to leave the European Union and formally departed the EU on 31 December 2020. With this departure, the UK started diverging from EU law. Some of the major divergences are the UK’s animal export ban, identifying gene editing separately from genetic modification, the new UKCA mark, rules of origin requirements, not banning Titanium Dioxide, removing radioactivity restrictions on food imports from Japan, and not following the EU’s reduction of permissible Arsenic level by 80%. According to the Windsor Framework, the products destined for the Republic of Ireland (ROI), or any EU location will undergo the ‘red lane’ process, which includes customs declarations and specific inspections. UK has introduced a Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), which categorizes the food imported into the UK based on the risk and requires pre-notifications and an Export Health Certificate for high-risk Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods. The UK landbridge can be still utilized, but with increased requirements and documentary checks, potentially leading to higher costs and possible delays. Even with all those challenges, 95% of Irish food businesses are optimistic about growth, and in 2022, the UK remained Ireland’s primary agri-food export destination, with a value of EUR6.7 billion.

Implementing Ireland’s Food Vision 2030 within the Fresh Produce Sector: An Investigation of the Barriers and Enablers Using Systems Thinking Principles

The Irish Food Vision 2030 (IFV 2030) seeks to restructure Ireland’s agricultural food system to deliver long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability in keeping with its commitment to the European Green Deal and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This study investigates the effectiveness of the IFV 2030 in delivering on this commitment across the fresh produce supply chain in Ireland using a combination of data collected from stakeholders through a survey and systems thinking principles. A review of the literature and Foucault’s genealogical methods guided the development of the survey. Systems thinking principles were used to review the IFV 2030 and assess its capacity to deliver large-scale change for a sustainable Irish food system. Barriers to change were identified, including historical patterns of behaviour between EU and Irish policymakers that have repeatedly hindered progress towards large-scale change events. The results demonstrate that successful, long-term change will depend on the involvement and incentives of stakeholders within the supply chain. Continuous stakeholder engagement is required through a bottom-up organisational and supply chain approach to deliver long-term sustainability within the fresh produce sector. Using a systems thinking lens brings benefits through transdisciplinary collaboration and fosters the multiple stakeholder perspectives needed to deliver new ideas and solutions.

Foodism in Ireland: feeding foodie philosophy or showing a shift in contemporary food culture?

ABSTRACT This paper examines contemporary food culture in Ireland through the phenomenon of foodism and the habits and traits expressed through the subculture of foodies. Elements and actors of the Irish food scene are also considered. Qualitative research was applied to investigate the five research objectives posed. This featured six in-depth interviews with “key informants” from Ireland’s tourism sector, educational sector, food sector, and a state food agency, conducted during 2020. The study draws insights from the fields of cultural studies and sociology. Thematic analysis was applied as part of the methodology process, from which five themes developed from the data findings. These are: (1) An evolving Irish food culture, (2) Two perceptions of Irish food, (3) A breakdown of hierarchies, (4) Influencing factors, (5) State body remits. The primary research reveals that industry experts and academics concur that Irish food and culture have “evolved” from a more traditional cuisine and culture and that these are dynamic entities. In addition, it establishes that there is a “hunger for food” amongst a small but growing cohort of Ireland’s population, who wish to gain information via food media and to access food experiences such as culinary courses, gastro tours and food festival events.

A Comprehensive Review of Cured Meat Products in the Irish Market: Opportunities for Reformulation and Processing.

Cured meat products constitute one of the meat categories commonly consumed in Ireland and has been part of the Irish cuisine and diet for many years. Ham, gammon, and bacon are some of the products that involve curing as part of the traditional processing methods. Common among these products are high levels of salt and the addition of nitrites. These products undergo processing treatments to create variety, preserve shelf-life, and develop their unique quality and safety characteristics. However, consumers are becoming more conscious of the level of processing involved in these products, and the effects of some components and ingredients might be perceived as unhealthy. Meat product developers have been exploring ways to reduce the amount of ingredients such as salt, saturated fat, and chemical preservatives (e.g., nitrites), which are linked to health concerns. This is a challenging task as these ingredients play an important techno-functional role in the products' quality, safety, and identity. While innovative processing techniques are being introduced and progress has been made in reformulation and packaging technologies, much is still unknown, especially regarding the applicability of many of the proposed interventions to a wide range of meat products and their sustainability at the industrial scale.

A blessing or a curse? Culinary discourses on convenience food in Ireland during the 1960s and 1970s

ABSTRACT Based on a qualitative content analysis of selected Irish local and national newspapers as well as women’s magazines, this paper explores discursive construction of convenience foods in Ireland during the 1960s and the 1970s, when such products started to gain in popularity. The article discloses various negative commonly occurring associations with convenience foods, such as the lack of flavor, unhealthiness, and high prices, and juxtaposes them with the positive characteristics, including saving time and labor and becoming modern. The research illustrates that discourses revealed ambivalent attitudes toward convenience foods, which were viewed as a blessing on the one hand and a curse on the other. The aim of this study is to add to the growing body of scholarship on Irish culinary history of the second half of the twentieth century, and ultimately, acknowledge the significance of various discourses in the context of discussion on convenience foods.

Prevalence of food insecurity among caregivers of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.

Our objectives were to explore the prevalence of food insecurity in primary caregivers of young children in Ireland and to compare two tools for measuring food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among caregivers of children aged <2 years in Ireland in May/June 2020. Relevant survey questions were closed-ended using two established tools for measuring food poverty/insecurity; the Irish Food Poverty Indicator and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the prevalence of food poverty/insecurity. To explore agreement in the classification of food insecurity by the Food Poverty Indicator and the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, Cohen's κ was used. Analyses are based on 716 participants; most had a 3rd-level education and were married or in a partnership. Per the food poverty index, Ireland's national measure of food poverty, 3.9% (n = 28) of our sample were experiencing food poverty. This rose to 10.5% (n = 75) experiencing food insecurity when using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, which also measures worry/anxiety around access to food. There was low agreement between the tools, with 11.3% of the sample classified as food secure by one tool and food insecure by the other. Our current measure of food poverty in Ireland may not be sufficient to describe the food-access struggles or worry/anxiety about food access, experienced by the population, particularly during an emergency like COVID-19.

Food policy impacts on greenhouse gas emissions from food system activities in Ireland 1990-2018

Abstract Food systems encompass interconnected actors and activities that bring food from farm to fork and the broader environments (economic, societal and natural) they are embedded in. Food systems operate at high cost to human and environmental health. 20-30% of total human-created greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally are attributable to food system activities. The agri-food sector plays a vital role in the Irish economy. In 2021 agri-food exports valued €18.7 billion and provided 7.1% of jobs in Ireland. Economic growth in the sector has come at the expense of the environment. In 2018 Ireland had the highest GHG emissions from food systems per capita in the EU. This paper presents an overview of GHG emissions from Irish food system activities 1990-2018. Data from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research were used to examine changes in food system emissions (Mt C02-equivalent(eq)) over time (1990-2018). Shares of total emissions by system stage (land use, production, processing, packaging, retail, transport, consumption and food waste) were also analysed. Food and agriculture policy developments were mapped to changes in emissions over time. After a decline from 2000 to 2011, food system emissions in Ireland are trending upwards. Total food system emissions in Ireland in 2018 measured 34Mt (C02-eq), accounting for 52% of all Irish emissions. 84% of food system emissions arose from production. Packaging and transport of food represented 3.7% each and consumption amounted to 0.84%. Increasing sustainability in the food system requires an understanding of where and how emissions arise across the whole system. Research on Irish food-related emissions has focused on agriculture and land use but little is published on activities later in the system. Estimating GHG contribution across the Irish food system this analysis provides important information for targeted policy development for mitigating food system impacts on climate change and health. Key messages • By estimating GHG contribution across the Irish food system this analysis provides important information for targeted policy development for mitigating food system impacts on climate change. • Increasing sustainability in the food system requires an understanding of where and how emissions arise across the whole system.

Food Composition Databases (FCDBs): A Bibliometric Analysis.

Food composition databases (FCDBs) are important tools that provide information on the nutritional content of foods. Previously, it was largely unclear what nutritional contents and which FCDBs were involved in highly cited papers. The bibliometric study aimed to identify the most productive authors, institutions, and journals. The chemicals/chemical compounds with high averaged citations and FCDBs used by highly cited papers were identified. In July 2023, the online database Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) was queried to identify papers related to FCDBs. A total of 803 papers were identified and analyzed. The first paper indexed in WoSCC was published in 1992 by Pennington, which described the usefulness of FCDB for researchers to identify core foods for their own studies. In that paper, the FCDB described was the USDA 1987-88 NFCS (the United States Department of Agriculture 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey). The most productive author was Dr. Paul M. Finglas, the Head of the Food Databanks National Capability at the Quadram Institute (Norwich, UK) and the Managing Director of EuroFIR. His most cited paper among this dataset was about the development of an online Irish food composition database together with EuroFIR. The most productive institutions were the USDA and the World Health Organization (WHO) instead of universities. Flavonoid was the most recurring chemical class among the highly cited ones. The anti-oxidative properties and protective effects against heart disease and cancer of flavonoids might be some of the reasons for their popularity in research. Among the highly cited papers, the most heavily used FCDBs were the USDA database for the flavonoid content of selected foods, Fineli, the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (USNDB), EuroFIR eBASIS-Bioactive Substances in Food Information Systems, and Phenol-Explorer. High-quality national and international FCDBs should be promoted and made more accessible to the research and public communities to promote better nutrition and public health on a global scale.

Food interests, preferences and behaviours: a profile of the sustainable food consumer

PurposeSustainability challenges are omnipresent. This study aims to identify consumer segments based on food consumption practices from purchasing to disposal. A priori work identified quality attributes, food responsibility, dietary choices and food organisation and management within the home as key influences. Each represents an opportunity for consumers to employ more sustainable food behaviours. A priori work identified several indicators for each of these influences. This study explored the suitability of these indicators for measuring the identified key influences.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used an online survey of 324 Irish food consumers in January 2021 to address online food interests, purchasing preferences and purchase behaviour linked to food sustainability.FindingsThe authors identify four consumer segments – food dabblers, food appreciators, pro-sus and pressured – which present a holistic view of the sustainable behaviours practiced by food consumers. The findings provide insight into the range of sustainability-related food behaviours actioned by consumers – from interest in meat-free products, organics and local produce to having an organised stock at home and minimising waste. The findings shed light on how consumers integrate elements of sustainability into their food lifestyles.Originality/valueThis study captures sustainability-related food behaviours from the point of purchase through to consumption and disposal and identifies four new consumer segments based on interests, preferences and behaviours.

Fresh Beef and Lamb Consumption in Relation to Nutrient Intakes and Markers of Nutrition and Health Status among the Population Aged 5-90 Years in Ireland.

The dietary role of meat is under scrutiny for health and environmental reasons, yet a growing body of evidence proposes that advice to limit red meat consumption is unnecessarily restrictive. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of 'fresh beef and lamb' in the diet of the population (5-90 years) in Ireland and its association with markers of nutrition and health status. Analyses are based on data from three nationally representative dietary surveys in the Republic of Ireland. Dietary intake data were estimated using food records, and nutrient intakes were estimated based on UK and Irish food composition tables. Biochemical samples were collected and analysed using standard procedures. 'Fresh beef and lamb' (defined as beef/lamb that had not undergone any preserving process other than chilling/freezing/quick-freezing) was consumed by 68-84% of the population and intakes ranged from 19 to 43 g/d across age groups. It made important contributions to intakes of protein, monounsaturated fat, vitamins D, B12, niacin, iron and zinc while also contributing relatively small proportions of total fat, saturated fat and salt. Higher consumption of 'fresh beef and lamb' was associated with higher intakes of protein, niacin, vitamins B6, B12, zinc and potassium (but also total fat) and lower intakes of carbohydrate and total sugars (but also dietary fibre). In adults, older adults and WCBA, higher consumption of 'fresh beef and lamb' was not associated with increased risk factors of cardio-metabolic diseases nor was it associated with better or poorer nutritional status for vitamins D, B12 or iron. This study adds to the evidence base on the contribution of 'fresh beef and lamb' in the diet and may be useful to policymakers updating guidance for healthy diets from sustainable food systems.

Irish dairy and drystock farmers’ attitudes and perceptions to planting trees and adopting agroforestry practices on their land

Due to the intensification of agriculture and transition to monoculture plantations, vast areas of native woodland have been lost from the Irish landscape. As these trees gradually vanished from agricultural land, the use of traditional, ancient agroforestry practices dwindled. Currently, forestry cover in Ireland is 25% lower than the European average, with the rate of afforestation remaining critically low. Agroforestry has been cited as a means to increase forestry cover in Ireland while continuing to produce viable high quality agricultural products on the same parcel of land. However, even with a range of afforestation schemes available, farmers exhibit an evident reluctance to adopt agroforestry. This research aimed to examine the main attitudes and perceptions of Irish dairy and drystock farmers to planting trees on their land and adopting agroforestry practices. The majority of farmers included within the dataset exhibited a positive attitude towards trees on their farms, with the main negative behavioural beliefs relating to impacts on pasture. Family and Teagasc (The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority) are the highest cited influential bodies while the majority of farmers exhibit high perceived behavioural control. Intention rates to plant trees are high, albeit mainly on marginal areas of the farm. Agroforestry knowledge is low in Ireland with the word itself eliciting negative responses amongst the farming community. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the main attitudes, influential bodies and barriers that affect agroforestry uptake in Ireland.

Grass-power: the political ecology of the grass crop in Ireland

Utilising actor-network theory, this paper conducts an analysis of the grass crop in Ireland’s political ecology – showing the ability of non-human agents, in the words of Bruno Latour, to ‘make us do things’. In particular, it examines the mutually beneficial and extended interests of the grass crop with the dairy industry – this is well represented by the state and herein termed grass-power. This shows how Ireland is staged as a ‘grass country’ to a global audience, making dairy consumption appear neutral and inevitable. To date, the role of the grass crop in Ireland’s political ecology has been neglected, although it is shown here to be at the centre of environmental harms. This analysis reveals the contradictions and competing aims of Irish food strategies and suggests that to build sustainable landscapes, the imaginary that grass-cover is the only legitimate form of land use must be displaced and unravelled from political interests.

Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective

A sustainable food system is a key target of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current global food system operates on market mechanisms that prioritise profit maximisation. This paper examines how small food businesses grow and develop within grassroot economies that operate on different market mechanisms. Focusing on artisan food producers and farmers’ markets, this research highlights the potential of resilient, small-scale, diverse markets as pathways to sustainable food systems. An applied critical realist, mixed-methods study was conducted at a macro (Irish food industry), meso (farmers’ markets in the region of Munster, Ireland) and micro (artisan food producers and their businesses) level. The resulting framework provides a post-growth perspective to sustainability, proposing that farmers’ markets represent an alternative market structure to the dominant industrial market, organised on mechanisms where producers ‘Mind what they make’ and ‘Make peace with enough’. In their resilience, these markets can provide pathways for structural change. This implies a call to action to reorientate policies targeting small food businesses to move beyond the concept of firms as profit-maximizing enterprises and to instead focus on a local food policy framework that reinforces the regional ‘interstices’ within which small food businesses operate to promote diversity, resilience and sustainability in the food system.

Examining the policy process of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in Ireland

Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a growing source of weight gain, obesity, and type 2 diabetes that contain high added sugar amounts and provide minimal nutritional benefit. Taxing SSBs are effective in reducing sugar consumption and increasing awareness about health effects. The 2014 European Union Action Plan on Childhood Obesity combined with neighboring SSB tax proposals in the U.K. and France helped stimulate political discussions in Ireland. Following this momentum, in 2015, public health groups lead by the Irish Heart Foundation proposed an SSB tax with earmarked funds for public health and worked with the Irish Health Department through a whole-of-government approach to convince the Finance Department to introduce an SSB tax. These efforts resulted in the Finance Department proposing the Sugar Sweetened Drinks Tax (SSDT) in September 2016, which taxes non-alcoholic, water-based and juice-based drinks, which have an added sugar content of 5g per 100mL and above. Opposing stakeholders including the Irish Beverage Council and Food & Drink Industry Ireland argued that the tax would not decrease consumption of SSBs or impact obesity, disproportionately impact individuals with a low socioeconomic background, and create illicit trade. However, health groups argued the tax would reduce sugar consumption, encourage consumers to purchase healthier options, and help reduce obesity levels. These efforts with political will helped Ireland become the 36th country in the world (9th in Europe) to implement an SSB tax policy in May 2018. While the government reportedly raised €16.5 million (20.012 million USD) in 2018 and €33 million (40.024 million USD) in 2019 from the SSDT, the tax was not earmarked for public health purposes nor has it been evaluated despite multiple requests by public health groups representing an important missed opportunity. While other countries should follow Ireland's lead in enacting an SSB tax, it is important to evaluate the tax's impact on reducing sugar consumption and ensure the tax has earmarked funds for public health to further maximize the impact of reducing sugar consumption, promoting health equity and helping curb the NCD epidemic.

Exploring the Food-Related Intangible Cultural Heritage of Bealtaine (May Day) within the Irish Folklore Commission’s Schools’ Collection Digital Archive

In 1937-1938, the Irish Folklore Commission ran the Schools’ Collection Folklore Project, where 50,000 schoolchildren became folklore collectors. This paper argues for a better understanding of Irish food as intangible cultural heritage, and champions the application of a food perspective among Irish studies scholars. Using the online digitised Schools’ Folklore Collection (dúchas.ie), this paper explores food traditions associated with Bealtaine or May Day, one of the four quarter days of the Irish calendar year. Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper finally champions the growing digitisation of archives for broader global accessibility.

Food and Social Politics in Early Modern Ireland: Representing the Peasant in The Parliament of Clan Tomas

Recent historiography has demonstrated the immense material and metaphorical importance of food to representing social distinction in medieval and early modern Europe. To date there has been no effort to explore the Irish experience in this context. This article approaches the “meaning” of food in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Ireland through a focused gastro-political analysis of Irish literary and material satire. It will examine representations of low-born food consumption in relation to broader early modern discourse around dietary classification, manners and food consumption. It will also explore the basis of Irish social food stereotypes by locating them in contemporary nutritional theories, philosophical and “scientific” ideas and by comparing imagined Irish foodways with a broad range of comparative European visual, literary and material examples. The “meaning” of food will be considered thematically, exploring dietary codification; the physical and moral embodiment of peasant foods; and the relationship between food association and sexual generation. This approach will demonstrate the highly sophisticated conceptual integration of European ideas and symbols in Irish culture, whilst developing a new tool for understanding the metaphorical intricacy of this period in Irish history. The article will move food, for the first time, into the arena of early modern Irish history, opening a window for future comparative studies of Irish and European food cultures.

Food neophobia and its relationship with dietary variety and quality in Irish adults: Findings from a national cross-sectional study

Food neophobia is characterised by a reluctance to eat novel or unfamiliar foods and has been linked to reduced dietary variety and quality. However, this link has been primarily studied in children. Therefore, we aimed to explore the relationship between food neophobia and dietary variety and quality in adults using a sub-sample of the National Adults Nutrition Survey collected between 2008 and 2010 (n = 1088). Food and nutrient intakes were assessed using a 4-day semi-weighed food diary. Food neophobia was measured using the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). Dietary variety was assessed in three ways; Total Dietary Variety (TDV), Food-Group Variety (FGV) and Fruit and Vegetable Variety (FVV). Diet quality was assessed using the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) and Nutrient-Rich Food Index (NRF9.3). A multivariate general linear model was used to assess the linear relationships between FNS score and all dietary measures, controlling for age, sex, education level, social class, location and BMI. Food neophobia was found to be inversely associated with TDV, FGV and FVV. In addition, food neophobia was negatively associated with vitamin C, magnesium and fruit and vegetable intakes and positively associated with percentage energy from free sugars. However, food neophobia was not significantly associated with all other nutrients, MAR and NRF9.3. While these results suggest food neophobia may not be a particularly important risk factor for poor nutrient status, adherence to certain dietary recommendations remains low within the Irish population and food neophobia may further inhibit the adaption of healthy and sustainable diets. Future research should seek to understand the implications of food neophobia on dietary behaviour change.

Implications of European Union recast Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria for renewable heat and transport: Case study of willow biomethane in Ireland

The 2018 recast European Renewable Energy Directive (RED recast) sets emissions savings criteria for renewable fuels. This paper assesses the life-cycle emissions from gasification methanation of willow to produce renewable biomethane in order to compare the heat and transport 2026 sustainability criteria in the RED recast. The criteria are more stringent for use of the fuel as heat, with both a higher specified emissions savings criteria (80% versus 65% for transport) and a lower Fossil Fuel Comparator (80 g CO2 MJ−1 versus 94 CO2 MJ−1 for transport). Scenarios tested were based on both the RED recast and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Global Warming Potential (GWP) values. Agro-chemical input data from Teagasc (the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority) was used for both mineral and organic fertilisers. Previous land use was shown to have a significant impact on the results of the analysis. Overall, 24 scenarios were tested. Converting land from grassland for cultivation of willow results in greater emissions when compared to conversion from arable land. The gasification methanation pathway was found to meet emissions savings criteria for transport in most cases, and for heat when converting from arable land only. The highest emission saving of 97% was achieved through conversion from arable land for the transport end use.

Exploring evidence of lost and forgotten Irish food traditions in Irish cookbooks 1980-2015

ABSTRACT A study by the Irish Food Board, Bord Bia, in 2008 outlined some lost and forgotten food traditions in Ireland based on the evidence from a pre-selected expert group. This paper explores the inclusion of traditional Irish foods within seventy-nine Irish cookbooks, published between 1980 to 2015. Extant academic and grey literature on food traditions and cookbooks, together with the content of the cookbooks, identified a gradual decline in the presence of certain traditional Irish foods, to the point where they could be deemed lost or forgotten. The study, however, also finds a re-emergence in the most recent period. A notable omission in both the corpus of cookbooks, highlighting their aspirational function, and the Bord Bia report, was bacon and cabbage, a traditional dish closely associated with Ireland. This paper outlines the importance of documenting food traditions in order to pass on this knowledge to future generations.