Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 326: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the procedures in place to prevent non Irish beef products being labelled as produce of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47484/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health and Children has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation. Responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) through its service contracts with my Department, the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency, the Health Services Executive, the Local Authorities and the National Consumer Agency. Checks are conducted by the FSAI to ensure that the requirements for origin labelling of beef is complied with.

The competent authority with responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation in retail establishments is the Health Service Executive through its Environmental Health Officers under contract to the FSAI.

Labelling checks are also carried out by officials of my Department as part of the routine official checks in meat establishments under the Department's supervision. Checks are conducted on a random, risk based frequency and cover labelling, traceability, origin, identification of animals, and the labelling of carcasses, meat, mince meat and meat products. Beef imported from within the European Union is checked to ensure that it complies with the labelling and hygiene requirements.

Beef imported from a third country is checked at a Border Inspection Post on its arrival into the EU to confirm that its veterinary certification is correct, that it is correctly labelled and identified and the meat is checked to ensure that it is fit for human consumption.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 327: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the procedures in place to prevent non Irish pork and bacon products being labelled as produce of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47486/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health and Children has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation. Responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) through its service contracts with my Department, the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency, the Health Services Executive, the Local Authorities and the National Consumer Agency.

General food labelling legislation, as set out in Directive 2000/13/EC on the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs does not require a declaration of origin of food. However declaration requirements exist in legislation for some food products including beef, and some imported poultry in specific circumstances such as when raw and imported from a non-EU country. There is a clear requirement that consumers should not be misled by food labelling. Manufacturers may voluntarily declare a country of origin, and consumers should not be misled by that declaration.

The competent authority with responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation in retail establishments is the Health Service Executive through its Environmental Health Officers under contract to the FSAI.

Labelling checks are also carried out by officials of my Department as part of the routine official checks in meat establishments under the Department's supervision. Checks are conducted on a random, risk based frequency and cover labelling, traceability, origin, identification of animals, and the labelling of carcases, meat, mince meat and meat products. Pork and bacon imported from within the European Union is checked to ensure that it complies with the labelling and hygiene requirements.

Pork and bacon imported from a third country is checked at a Border Inspection Post on its arrival into the EU to confirm that its veterinary certification is correct, that it is correctly labelled and identified and the meat is checked to ensure that it is fit for human consumption.

All such product imported into Ireland must comply with the same labelling requirements as Irish pork and bacon when sold in supermarkets in Ireland. There is no legal requirement to indicate the country of origin for pork and bacon.

In addition to the foregoing, following the recall of pork products initiated on 6 December 2008, the rapid and decisive action taken by my Department and other agencies involved allowed me to confirm on 10 December 2008 that all the necessary controls are now in place to enable the restoration of supplies of Irish pork and bacon to consumers. The purpose of the controls is to ensure that only pigmeat certified as coming from herds that are completely unaffected by the current feed contamination issue enters the food chain and is supplied to consumers.

As part of a determined information campaign, all such products will carry a special label, developed by An Bord Bia, I indicated that they are perfectly safe to consume and confirms them as having had no association with the potentially contaminated feed.