Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I have three questions. Will there be a new regulatory framework dealing with non-food grade oil, as I understand it? My second question relates to the routine sample of pork fat. The Minister stated on 28 November that a routine sample of pork fat taken as part of his Department's national residue monitoring programme was shown to be positive for the presence of non-dioxin-like marker PCBs. Is there routine testing for PCBs on an ongoing basis throughout the food industry? On Friday, 28 November we were told that this indicative testing took place. On 4 December the Department issued a press release confirming an investigation into the source of a contaminant in animal feed and the restriction of a number of farms. The Dutch authorities contacted the Department and the FSAI regarding their independent investigation. When they communicated that, how long had the Dutch authorities' investigation been in train? When was the rapid alert system kicked into action? This is also an important point. The Minister has told us this all happened on this island, effectively. However, there is a school of thought that suggests the rapid alert kicked in long before this process and we need some clarification on that point.

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