Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, and apologise for the delay which occurred. Like him, I am interested in ensuring the continued integrity of the Irish beef industry. I am also interested in providing assurance to farmers that their efforts and hard work are being rewarded. It is in this light that I raise the matter before the House.

Last year, representatives from the Polish veterinary authorities visited Ireland at the invitation of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I understand they were invited but I do not know if that was the case and I stand open to correction by the Minister of State. In any event, they came as a result of the horsemeat scandal and on foot of allegations that a certain amount of product had been sourced in Poland. They took that matter very seriously and travelled here to investigate. They visited Silvercrest Foods and requested that various pallets of meat be unloaded in order that they could examine them. They took some photographs of the meat in question - I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with them - and included them in their report, which was recently made public. The photographs to which I refer are extremely disturbing. They suggested that some of the meat was old, rotten, dry and either green or brown in colour. Some of the meat was also red, so it appeared to the representatives from Poland that horsemeat had been mixed with the meat. This was not done in order to replace beef, which was what we first understood to have happened, but perhaps to cover up the use of what was very poor-quality meat in the first instance. Within the industry this meat is deemed to be category 3 animal by-product. In other words, it is substandard meat.

The veterinary inspectors from Poland observed what I have just outlined between 12 and 15 February 2013. I presume they met and were accompanied by officials from the Department during their visit. Again, I would welcome clarification from the Minister of State on this matter. The issue I have raised here this evening relates to the report compiled by the departmental officials who accompanied the Polish veterinary inspectors. I presume those officials would also have been alarmed by what they saw. It has been reported that the Polish veterinary inspectors were given an assurance by the officials who were present that the pallet of meat that was opened for inspection had not been opened previously. In other words, it was disassembled at the behest of our Polish visitors. The pallet had not been defrosted previously and no one knew what it contained until the packaging was removed. The Polish veterinary inspectors are very concerned with regard to what is shown in the photographs they took.

I do not know what happened which allowed the meat in the relevant freezer lorry to deteriorate, as is suggested by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Department's version of events is that the meat deteriorated because it had been loaded onto and taken back out of the truck several times, tampered with, drilled into, etc. I am not a specialist in how food is frozen, rather I am a food scientist. However, the specialists have said that if the temperature in the truck was incorrect, all of the meat would have been putrid. They also stated that it ought to have been properly kept in the truck. I am sure there are procedures for detaining meat that is under question. Perhaps the Minister of State knows what are the relevant regulations in this regard. If so, perhaps he might share them with me.

A number of matters of concern arise in respect of this matter. For example, there were 22 pallets in the truck to begin with but there were only eight when the representatives from the Polish authorities carried out their inspection. Where did the other pallets go? We have been given an assurance to the effect that meat from the truck did not enter the food chain but I am struggling with that. I am extremely concerned that the meat did enter the food chain, particularly as meat from the truck had never been examined until the Polish veterinary inspectors made their visit. In their report, the inspectors state that the labels which were claimed to be Polish had either been reused, photocopied or faked. As far as I understand it, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has indicated that this is the Polish authorities' problem. I would have thought it is our problem. If labels were faked in our jurisdiction, then perhaps they are our responsibility.

People have expressed their concerns about this matter to me. They want to know if it could happen again and what are the implications for the industry. In the interests of ensuring the integrity of the industry, I would welcome it if the Minister of State could clarify the position.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I hope what I am going to say will clarify the position on some of the matters to which she referred.

Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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I know this is a complex issue.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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As the Senator will be aware, my Department published a comprehensive report in March 2013 on the detailed investigation into the adulteration of beef products with equine DNA. That investigation was carried out by the Department's veterinary inspectors, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, and the Garda National Bureau of Fraud Investigation. It was initiated as a result of initial findings from a food authenticity survey by the FSAI. The matter was brought to the attention of the EU authorities and information arising from the investigation was shared with the authorities in a number of other member states. The report was clear and unambiguous. The Irish authorities highlighted unacceptable practices along the supply chain, including the presence of horse DNA in meat which was labelled as being of Polish origin. This problem involved long and complex supply chains and was international in nature.

In the context of the references to meat from Silvercrest Foods made in the subsequent report compiled by the Polish chief veterinary officer, it should be understood that this material was detained and removed from the food chain once positive DNA samples were received on 25 and 28 January 2013, almost three weeks before the Polish inspectors arrived in Silvercrest on 13 February 2013. During their visit, the Polish inspectors were accompanied by departmental officials and representatives from both Silvercrest and Food Services Poland. The pallets in question, which contained frozen blocks of meat pieces, had already been removed from storage, manipulated and sampled by the Irish authorities on more than one occasion. Such manipulation involved the removal of wrapping and labels, the partial disassembly of pallets and some drilling and sampling of the frozen blocks of meat. This would have lead to deterioration in the quality and appearance of the meat. Once the meat had been detained, there was never a question of it entering the food chain and, therefore, there was no requirement to store it in conditions or to a standard required of food grade material. Seven of these pallets remain under official detention and one has been destroyed.

My Department, the HSE and the FSAI have jurisdiction in relation to labelling and mislabelling issues in Ireland. Rules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation. For beef, the current rules require compulsory origin labelling, with place of birth, rearing and slaughter specified. In the context of the European Union Single Market, trade between member states in beef is, of course, permitted but mandatory country-of-origin labelling rules apply. In this regard audits of imported products are carried out in meat plants approved by my Department.

Such audits include physical identity, labelling and documentary checks and cover products originating both in EU member states and third countries. In addition, labelling and documentary checks form part of the routine checks conducted by officials from my Department.

Checks are also conducted by the local district veterinary offices in smaller meat plants and by the HSE at retail level, working under the aegis of the FSAI which has an overarching supervisory role in relation to labelling matters.

The conclusion of the Polish report indicates that there is a doubt about the participation of Polish companies in potential adulteration of beef with horse meat and that there is no concrete evidence that beef was replaced with horse meat in Polish plants. It does not indicate where mislabelling may have occurred.

My Department is not in a position to comment on the findings of the Polish investigation relating to the origin of the labels on meat labelled as having been supplied from Poland. If mislabelling occurred en route to Ireland, then that is a matter for the Polish authorities or the authorities in the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where it occurred in the first instance. When allegations are made in respect of the placing of meat which is mislabelled in the Irish market, my Department investigates the matter thoroughly and takes the appropriate action.

Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his response, however, I wish clarify a point. In my question I asked the Minister for the details of the report that was carried out by the relevant authority that accompanied the Polish veterinary inspectors last February, not January as stated in my question. Officials from the Department accompanied the Polish veterinary inspectors to Silvercrest and several other plants. Did the material they brought back form part of the final report that was issued in March 2013?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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That is my understanding and I can give the Senator some documentation.

Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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Effectively that was a Polish investigation under the supervision of the Irish officials. I have concerns about the matters that they raised, as they are experts in frozen blocks of material. Their evidence suggests that meat trimmings should not look like what they saw during their investigation. Where in our report system do our officials contradict the Polish experts who say that no meat should look like what they saw during their investigation? I am trying to get to the bottom of that.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I will seek to have the matter clarified for the Senator.

Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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I would appreciate it very much if the Minister of State could clarify that for me.