Mr. John Foy:

I agree with this to a point, but consumers are looking for quality at a cheap price so "value" is the word. As Deputy Deering stated, consumers should be made aware. What amazes me is that the bigger companies outside of Ireland involved in this chain of events do not have inspectors to ensure a system is in place to protect consumers' interests. This is what I am concerned about and, touch wood, Musgrave Group has not been affected so I am a bit more confident. I question that these big multinational companies do not have chemists or others in place to ensure the problem has not occurred. Do committee members honestly believe this has just happened in the past six to eight weeks? It could have been happening for years but this is not the debate today. If consumers are looking for value we must try to get the best quality product to deliver this value. There is a limit and if pressure is put on suppliers somewhere along the way they might cut corners in this regard.