Food safety knowledge, practice and training were examined among 689 food workers in Ireland. Parameters such as role, years worked, level of food safety training acquired, and establishment were all found to have a significant effect (p-values <0.01) on knowledge score. It is notable that 28% of all respondents claimed 'never' to have received food safety training, suggesting insufficient compliance with this legislative requirement. Notably, absence of training only accounted for 1% (n=1) of all canteen workers surveyed. In addition, individuals working in canteens were found to have the highest knowledge score (81%) and the highest percentage of level 3 training (60%). Respondents were asked a series of questions relating to operational prerequisite hygiene requirements such as working while unwell, critical limits, food allergens and hand hygiene. This study highlights the value of food safety training and elucidates potential areas for improvement. 1. Introduction Globalisation, coupled with the demand for increased product shelf-life, has led to longer and intrinsically more complex supply chains than ever before (Copenhagen, 2015; Walsh & Leva, 2018). This creates many challenges for the food sector in delivering safe food produce to customers; particularly in light of the current consumer demand for minimally processed food (De Corato, 2019). The global burden of foodborne disease has been reported to be comparable to major infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; with 1 in 10 individuals falling ill and 420,000 associated fatalities annually (Havelaar et al., 2015; WHO, 2015). In regional terms, European figures suggest that 23 million individuals became ill from foodborne disease, with an estimated 5,000 fatalities, reported in the EU every year (WHO, 2015). Interestingly, 61% of all foodborne outbreaks (including waterborne cases), reported in Europe (EFSA, 2018) and 78% in the USA (CDC, 2018), have been attributed to food from the food service sector. Similarly, approximately 50% of foodborne illness (Bolton, Meally, Blair, McDowell, & Cowan, 2008), has been previously reported to be associated with catering establishments and restaurants in Ireland, respectively. These figures combined with several recent studies documenting insufficient levels of knowledge, negative attitudes and optimistic bias among food handlers (