Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the enforcement of labelling and traceability legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and its official agents, which include the Health Service Executive, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Local Authorities and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland conducted an audit to determine compliance with food labelling and traceability in a number of food businesses in 2006. The audit identified non-compliance of the labelling and traceability legislation ranging from single breaches to breaches of a number of specific requirements.

In order to address these non-compliances, the food business operators were requested to take corrective action. In addition, the official agencies responsible for supervision of these food businesses undertook additional visits and inspections to ensure that the breaches of the legislation were corrected. Serious breaches of legislation resulted in prosecutions being initiated by the FSAI, or the official agency in conjunction with the FSAI. A number of legal actions are currently before the Courts. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has confirmed that as checks on labelling and traceability take place regularly as part of the routine inspection of food businesses carried out by the official agents no further audit by the FSAI is planned at this time.