Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 537: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the action he will take to ensure the payment of money from the pigmeat recall scheme is for Irish produced pigmeat products only; and the action he will take to ensure that pork products sold here can be identified by their country of production. [4386/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The product recall scheme provides assistance in respect of eligible product manufactured from pigs slaughtered in Ireland between 1 September and 6 December 2008. However, a case has been made for other products manufactured in Ireland and that were affected by the product recall to be considered for assistance. These would include products containing both Irish and imported pigmeat and products made here using solely imported pigmeat that, at the time of the recall, could not be segregated satisfactorily to facilitate their sale. My Department is currently considering the position of such products.

As regards identification of country of production, in December 2007 my Department submitted to the European Commission draft national legislation that would require the country of origin to be indicated on pigmeat, poultrymeat and sheepmeat and on food products containing over 70% of these meats. Over the last year the Department has been in extensive communication with the Commission with a view to justifying and pressing the case for the proposed legislation. The Commission, however, adopted a negative opinion in relation to our proposal on the grounds that it was not consistent with the EU labelling directive. The Commission's main contention is that only harmonised rules with EU-wide applicability may be applied to food labelling other than in exceptional circumstances. This negative opinion was formally adopted at a meeting of the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health in December 2008.

My Department will continue to press for compulsory country of origin labelling in the context of the Commission's proposal for a new regulation on food information. The Department of Health and Children is the lead Department for that proposal and my Department will continue to liaise with it on this issue.