Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 179: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps which have been taken to prevent the spread of animal disease and avian flu with obvious consequences for the food chain and public health, through imported foods or food products, the husbandry, production and traceability of which may not be subject to Irish and EU standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34258/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 464: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if adequate steps have been taken to ensure that all poultry imports into Ireland comply with the highest international standards in terms of husbandry, production and traceability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34552/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 465: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she has satisfied herself that all food imports into Ireland have been subject to best practise in terms of hygiene and production; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34553/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 466: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she has satisfied herself that all imports of meat and meat products into Ireland are compliant with husbandry production and traceability standards applicable here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34554/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to answer Question Nos. 179, 464, 465 and 466 together.

Detailed EU legislation lays down the conditions that member states must apply to the production of and trade in food products of animal origin, including fish, as well as to imports of these products from third countries. Under harmonized legislation a series of health and supervisory requirements are applied in the member states to ensure that animal products are produced to standards that guarantee the safety of food and the protection of human and animal health. The application of these standards in the member states is monitored by the FVO (Food and Veterinary Office) of the EU. It is a requirement that animal products imported from third countries meet standards at least equivalent to those required for production in, and trade between, member states. All such imports must come from third countries or areas of third countries approved for export to the EU.

To be an approved third country it must appear on a list drawn up and updated on the basis of EU audits and guarantees given by the competent authority of the exporting country; have veterinary controls equivalent to those applicable in the EU, particularly in terms of legislation, hygiene conditions, animal health status, veterinary medicines controls, zoonoses controls and other food law and have in place a residues programme approved by the European Commission. The animal products must be sourced from establishments that are approved and must bear a EU approved health mark. Exporting establishments must have standards equivalent to the requirements for EU export establishments; effective control systems and supervision by the competent authorities and traceability-labelling in accordance with the systems approved by the FVO and accepted and notified to the EU member states.

The FVO carries out inspections to ensure that only establishments that meet hygiene and health standards equivalent to those operating within the EU are approved. Where the FVO considers that public health requirements are not being met, an establishment may be removed from the EU approved list. If outbreaks of animal diseases occur in a third country approval to export to the EU is suspended for the infected regions of the country, or the whole country, as appropriate, until the disease risk has been eliminated. Importers of animal products must be registered with my Department. They are required to give advance notice of importation and, following import, are required to keep records of importation available for inspection by the Department for a period of three years. Imported animal products must be accompanied by the appropriate commercial documentation showing country and approval number of the establishment of production and health certification conforming to the models set down in EU legislation.

While there is free movement for trade within the EU all consignments from third countries must first be landed at a border inspection post, BIP, that has been approved by the FVO and undergo documentary, identity and physical checks. These latter checks are carried out at frequencies laid down in EU law. In Ireland, BIPs approved for the processing imports of animal products are located at Dublin Port and Shannon Airport. The FVO carries out monitoring and inspection of each member state's BIPs to ensure the conditions for import of animal products into Europe, provided under the harmonised legislation, are being correctly applied.

While responsibility for general controls in the area of marketing of fish and fish products lies with the Department of my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, under a special arrangement with that Department, and in accordance with authorisations issued by the Minister, officers of my Department with the co-operation of the sea fishery control officers, administer the BIP controls on third country imports.

Once it has been established that imported animal product has met all the required conditions it is released for free circulation within the community. Copies of the BIP clearance document and the health certificate must accompany the consignment to its destination. Imports failing to comply with these veterinary control checks may be detained for further examination. If non-compliance is established they are returned to the exporting country or destroyed. Where there are concerns with regard to the effectiveness of controls being operated in an approved third country, the Commission, in consultation with the Standing Committee on Animal Health and the Food Chain, may introduce specific controls by means of a safeguard measure to ensure the protection of human and animal health. Safeguard measures limiting or banning the export of animal products from EU countries or regions of countries may also be implemented where, for example, the conditions of an animal disease outbreak could seriously effect production and trade in animal products in the EU.

Since the outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in Asia, the EU has introduced a number of safeguard decisions banning trade in live poultry, live birds other than poultry, fresh poultry meat and untreated feathers from those third countries where an outbreak has been confirmed — Cambodia, Croatia, China, including the territory of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. In the case of Croatia, where the outbreak is confined to wild birds, the ban on import relates to import of fresh wild bird meat. The safeguard decisions apply controls on imports from each of these countries in accordance with its EU approval status to export animals and animal products. The EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has also extended control on the import of all captive live birds and the movement from third countries of live pet birds accompanying their owners into the Community. Poultry meat which has been cooked with a heat treatment of at least 70° may continue to be imported from a third country that has been approved to export this product to the EU.

I fully support the policy that animal products imported into the EU from third countries meet standards at least equivalent to those required for production in, and trade between, EU member states. In this context, I wrote last month to the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr Markos Kyprianou, concerning the sanitary rules applying to the import of livestock products, especially beef, into the European Union. In the letter, I raised the matter of "equivalence" on the specific and important issues of animal traceability, controls on veterinary medicines, prohibited substances and residue monitoring programmes in these countries and in particular with regard to Brazilian beef in view of its increasing presence on the European market. I requested the Commission to consider the matter and invited them to put forward appropriate proposals before the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, SCoFCAH. Irish farmers are required to ensure that their production systems and farm practices fully comply with a wide range of EU directives on important matters including traceability, animal health and welfare and consumer protection. These all have significant in-built cost factors, and bearing in mind that our beef farmers are in competition on European and international markets with beef from low cost producers such as Brazil, I will continue to seek real equivalence in these areas, both in discussions within the EU and in the context of the WTO talks on market access.

In regard to fruit and vegetables, the main concern for human health relates to pesticide residues. Produce, regardless of origin, is sampled and analysed by the pesticide control services of my Department and reports on that service's monitoring controls are published annually and are available from the Government Publications Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.