Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

Why did the Food Safety Authority of Ireland only notify the public on 18 February? That delay is unacceptable. Just when one thought it was safe to step into the supermarket, more than 400 offending products were flying off the shelves in what the press dubbed, "the biggest food scare since BSE."

Worried shoppers fear they and their families have been eating foodstuffs contaminated with an industrial dye, which is officially listed as a cancer risk and is normally used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol and shoe and floor polishes. Can one imagine anyone putting such a product into a food product? It is criminal.

My main concern is that we were consuming these goods for years without anybody notifying us. How did our extensive food safety control system take so long to kick into gear? Those are questions to which the Minister of State should obtain answers.

Our increasingly varied 21st century diet has left us exposed and vulnerable to food-borne health risks. Fortunately Sudan Red 1 is not immediately life threatening. Even so, this crisis highlights many of the vulnerabilities and unsustainable aspects of our global food system.

Another disguised blessing is that scandals like these are good at raising public awareness about these issues. I would never have read the contents of that product were it not for this scare. Every person who purchases food should look at the label to see what it contains. When such scandals occur, they are one of the few times when many of the invisible, taken-for-granted, aspects of our food system are made more transparent, albeit often well after the event. Many complacent consumers, that includes most of us, did not really think about what went into the prepared foods they were eating.

Even the favourite cuisine of "Coronation Street", Betty's hotpot, has been found to contain the banned cancer-causing dye, Sudan Red 1. This dish has been used and promoted on"Coronation Street" for years. Who would imagine that the incorruptible Betty has been poisoning her customers for the past 40 years? It has now been withdrawn from the programme. The drink which is supposed to cure a hangover, Bloody Mary, has been contaminated for years with this product. Instead of being a hangover cure, it became a poison. A person could be poisoned with alcohol and then poisoned by the cure.

This latest crisis is the thunder signalling a much larger storm on the near horizon unless some significant corrections are made within the global food system. It has highlighted the need for more vigilance in the case of the ingredients contained in the preservation of foodstuffs. Many systems are used to preserve food and extend its shelf life.

Young people are consuming products which are not in their best interests. I suggest there is a good case to be made for the provision of meals in schools. Some schools provide quality breakfasts for their students. In Northern Ireland and the UK, provision of a full lunch is included in the school system. This country is now in the financial position to provide good quality meals, either breakfast or lunch, for students rather than have them eating products which may not be in the best interest of their health.