Mr. John Shine:

As was mentioned, food labelling is a hugely complex area. The Consumer Protection Act provides for protection again misleading activity in a range of contexts, including regarding the origin of the product. That Act is horizontal in its scope in that it is intended to cover all sorts of issues, products and services. Our agency is not active in the food labelling area as there is a plethora of specific legislation covering this area already in place, which is being enforced by the Depart of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, HSE inspectors and so on. I understand, further legislation will be introduced in this area as the European Commission is working on a regulatory impact assessment with a view to bringing forward further specific requirements before the end of this year.

In the context of food labelling, the agency's focus is on the business or consumer relationship. The problems in the horsemeat scandal existed further back in the supply chain. If the agency was to examine that issue, we would focus on the relationship between the retailer and the consumer rather than anywhere else in the supply chain. In the horsemeat scandal, it is clear that the problems existed significantly further back in the supply change rather than at the point of the consumer interaction.