Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

The question of country of origin and origin of a product has been surrounded by fudge for a long time. It is important to remove the fudge factor so that the origin of products is clear and unambiguous. What is important for consumers is to be able to trace the origin of the food.

I refer to a recent incident where an illegal dye was used in foodstuffs and which is virtually impossible to trace. The knowledge of the country of origin might not necessarily resolve that problem but if the origins of the foodstuff cannot be traced, this raises questions about the value of traceability.

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