Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her Department has commissioned or carried out tests to monitor bacterial levels in meat or poultry products sold in retail or catering outlets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9610/09]

Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the enforcement of food safety legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The Food Safety Authority of Ireland oversees the regular monitoring of the bacteriological quality of the Irish food supply. This includes the sampling and testing of meat and poultry products at the processing, retail and catering stages of the food chain. The sampling and testing involved is carried out by staff from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and tested at the Central Meat Control laboratory and at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, and by staff from the Health Services Executive where testing is carried out at the Official Food Microbiology Laboratories.

The results of the regular monitoring programme are available to the public on the FSAI's website.http://www.fsai.ie/publications/reports/Zoonoses_report_05.pdf