Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The European Commission has a presence in South America and Asia. As I indicated earlier, the Minister wrote to the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection to ensure that equivalence is acted upon and guarantee adequate consumer protection, as well as protection for the industry. The industry in the European Union works to the highest standards. We will ensure that requirements are applicable at all stages to ensure that products imported from third countries to the European Union are up to standards demanded by the Food and Veterinary Office. In any aspect of food there should be absolute diligence. Animal health should be managed on an ongoing basis, and this was the content of the Minister's submission to the Commissioner.

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