Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 115 together.

Regarding the labelling of beef, this is governed by comprehensive EU regulations which were introduced in 2000 and are underpinned by a full national animal identification and traceability system. These compulsory labelling regulations require all operators and organisations marketing beef within the Community to provide information on the label to enable the beef to be traced back to the animals from which it was derived and must include details on the slaughterhouse, de-boning hall and the country in which the animals were born and reared.

Regulations for the purpose of beef labelling in the restaurant and catering sectors were made by the Minister for Health and Children earlier this year, which made the provision of country of origin information on beef in these sectors mandatory. There are EU regulations which provide for the labelling of unprocessed poultry meat at retail level. The regulations require such poultry meat to be labelled with the information regarding class; price per kg; condition; registered number of slaughterhouse or cutting plant; and, where imported from a third country, an indication of country of origin. There are no specific EU regulations governing the labelling of pig meat or sheep meat beyond the general food labelling regulations which do not require country of origin information.

The primary legislation enacted by the Oireachtas in March of this year under which our beef labelling requirements on country of origin were extended to the catering sector also allows for the extension of country of origin labelling to other meats. However, because different origin labelling requirements apply to other meats in the retail sector under current EU legislation and there are also different systems of traceability as well as some import-export complexities, it is not as straightforward as it is for beef. The European Commission has opposed member states introducing legislation in this area that is in excess of common EU requirements. Nonetheless, the Department of Agriculture and Food is currently in the process of drafting new regulations to require operators in the retail and catering sectors to provide country of origin information on poultry meat, pig meat and sheep meat. It is my intention to submit these regulations, when they are finalised, to the European Commission for approval as required by EU legislation.

The preferred way forward is that the Commission would progress the question of country of origin labelling of all meat at EU level. I wrote earlier this year to the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection on this subject. I also raised the issue at the Agriculture Council some months ago and will continue to take every opportunity to press for progress on this matter. During Commissioner Fischer Boel's visit to Ireland last month, I raised the question of country of origin labelling and the need for EU action on this subject. I was pleased with the positive response of the Commissioner to this issue and with her acceptance of the need for an EU origin logo to be put on all EU meat products.

I am glad to inform the House that the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission undertook a consultative process on a wide range of issues in this area earlier this year, under a document entitled Labelling: Competitiveness, Consumer Information and Better Regulation for the EU. I arranged for my Department to make a submission on food labelling, and country of origin labelling of meat in particular, to the Department of Health and Children, which co-ordinated the Irish contribution to this process. In the meantime, my Department will continue its work on the drafting of national measures.

The general EU food labelling regulations covering all food sold in Ireland require that the information be given clearly, accurately and in a language understood by the consumer. Among these requirements is origin marking in cases where failure to provide such information would be likely to mislead the consumer to a material degree. This legislation comes under the remit of the Department of Health and Children.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has responsibility for the enforcement of food labelling legislation. The food business operators involved are inspected on a routine basis by the environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive, operating under a service contract with the FSAI.

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