Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the reassuring confirmation given by Mr. Alan Reilly of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, at this afternoon's press briefing that there is no risk to public health from beef. Nevertheless, consistent with the precautionary approach taken to date and to provide reassurance to consumers, the following actions are being taken: any animals in herds shown to be above the proposed legal limit will be taken out of the food and feed chain, any product from these herds will not be released onto the market and the European Commission is being informed of the results.

On Saturday, 6 December, following the confirmation of the presence of dioxins in some Irish pork products, the FSAI required the food industry to recall all such products from the market as a precautionary measure. As Minister of State with responsibility for health promotion and food safety, my priority is public health. Although the health risks for people exposed in the short term to dioxins do not provide cause for concern, the potential effects of continued high cumulative exposure over time led to the precautionary withdrawal of pork products from the market. The high levels of dioxins, between 80 and 200 times the legal limit, found in the pork products necessitated such a response.

I have been advised by both the chief medical officer, CMO, of the Department of Health and Children and the FSAI that scientific data and evidence do not support concerns on the health of people exposed to dioxins over a short period. The CMO has issued clear advice on this issue to the public and to general practitioners in correspondence. The advice is that Irish pork products produced between 1 September 2008 and 7 December should not be consumed; that any risk arising to health from the consumption of Irish pork products prior to the product recall is extremely low; that there is no need for people to seek direct medical advice; that it is not expected that the exposure in this incident will result in symptoms; and that the recall of pork products was to avoid cumulative exposure over a prolonged period which could lead to a harmful build-up of dioxin in the body.

An expert group has been convened by the FSAI to provide advice to the CMO on toxicological and medical issues. This group is also engaged in ongoing consultation with the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organisation and counterpart health risk assessors in the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency. It is undertaking a risk assessment of maximum likely exposure levels and is drawing on the experience of the Belgian incident in 1999 where dioxin-contaminated feed was introduced onto chicken and pig farms. The level of dioxin found in Belgian pig fat was similar to that reported in Ireland and the duration of exposure to contaminated produce in Belgium was slightly longer. No adverse health effects have been reported in the Belgian population, with studies showing that the levels and duration of exposure were insufficient to increase the dioxin levels in the body. The expert group is meeting regularly to monitor the current situation.

To allay any public fears, the FSAI has opened an advice line, published a questions and answers sheet on its website and issued a series of press releases aimed at providing up-to-date information to both consumers and industry. The FSAI has also issued instructions to assist environmental health officers, who have been working since the weekend with retail outlets on the withdrawal of unsafe products. The Irish authorities' actions have been validated by the favourable international response. The French Agriculture Minister, Michel Barnier, has welcomed Ireland's actions, stating that we "reacted very rapidly". Ms Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Health, has expressed satisfaction with Ireland's actions and has indicated that no further action is required by the Commission. The European Commission is satisfied that Ireland has acted in a correct manner. Likewise, industry representatives have welcomed the quick response from the Government.

Analysis of the situation is ongoing. This evaluation process must be completed to ensure that all affected product is identified and restricted before post-recall product can be placed on the market. Furthermore, robust arrangements must be put in place to underpin and facilitate the release process. These steps are fundamental in terms of protecting public health and retaining consumer confidence in Irish pork products.

Notwithstanding the extremely low risk to public health, the prompt action taken by the Irish authorities in initiating a recall will ultimately protect Ireland's hard won reputation as a world class producer of safe and high-quality foods. I join with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Taoiseach in thanking all the experts for the clarity of their advice and their hard work at the weekend.

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