Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 261: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if efforts are being made at EU level to control the importations of poultry, which is subsequently sold as being produced in Ireland or other EU countries due to minor transformation, thus putting the industry here and other EU countries in danger; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37068/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Around 640,000 tonnes of poultrymeat was imported into the EU last year, the equivalent of approximately 6% of consumption. These imports are permitted in accordance with the EU's WTO obligations and are in full conformity with the comprehensive veterinary standards applicable to such products.

Unprocessed third country poultrymeat must bear an indication of the name of its country of origin on the label. It is an offence to mislead the consumer to a material degree in regard to the origin of the meat.

The concept of substantial transformation is the basis used throughout the EU and elsewhere to define the origin of goods as being from the country where the last substantial economic change was made to them. In my view it should not be used to disguise the origin of certain products or to mislead the consumer as to the origin of raw materials. I have made my concerns in this respect known to the European Commission both in the context of the review being carried out by them on "Labelling, competitiveness, consumer information, better regulation for the EU" and in the Council of Ministers as well as in bilateral contact with Commissioners Fischer Boel and Kyprianou.

My intention on poultrymeat labelling is to seek to require in law that information on 'country of origin' be provided on all poultrymeat at retail level including that coming from other EU Member States and to examine the possibility of extending that to poultrymeat products with a substantial element of poultrymeat in them.

The European Commission has opposed Member States introducing legislation in this area that is in excess of common EU requirements. Nonetheless, my Department is at present in the process of drafting new regulations to require operators to provide country of origin information on poultrymeat, pigmeat and sheepmeat. It is my intention to submit these regulations, when they are finalised, to the European Commission for approval as required by EU legislation. I will also continue to press the Commission to introduce compulsory country of origin labelling on all meats at EU level.