James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 243: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the labelling obligations of fast food outlets regarding the amount and type of nutritional and other information such establishments must display the point of display, whether on packaging, at the point of sale or otherwise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26257/09]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Currently, EU general labelling requirements for all foodstuffs are set out in Directive 2000/13/EC. This Directive lists the compulsory information to be included on all labels, such as the list of ingredients, the use-by date and any special conditions of use. In addition to the general legislation, there are certain labelling rules for certain food groups (e.g. country of origin labelling for beef), and specific measures including labelling provisions for certain foods and substances (e.g. beef, fish, chocolate, dietetic foods, food supplements, fortified foods etc).

Nutrition labelling on food is currently regulated by Directive 90/496/EEC, transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Nutrition Labelling for Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2005 (S.I. No. 65 of 2005). This sets out the requirements for the nutrition labelling of foodstuffs to be delivered to the ultimate consumer and to foodstuffs intended for supply to restaurants,fast food outlets, hospitals, canteens and other similar mass caterers. Foodstuffs must not be placed on the market unless these Regulations are complied with.

At the moment, under EU legislation, nutrition labelling is optional, although it becomes compulsory when a nutrition or health claim is made in the labelling, presentation or advertising of a foodstuff or when vitamins or minerals are voluntarily added to foods.

In January 2008, the European Commission presented its proposals on updating and harmonising this legislation. The proposal is still under discussion. This proposal introduced new provisions for a mandatory nutrition declaration and for mandatory allergen labelling amongst others. This declaration in Article 29(1) proposes that "the mandatory nutrition declaration shall include the following:

(a) energy value;

(b) the amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrates, sugars, and salt."

In November 2008, Ireland submitted its position paper on the proposal. This paper was informed by submissions made to the FSAI by many of the key stakeholders. Ireland's position will be further informed by the outcome of an FSAI Consumer Survey. In its position paper, Ireland supports Article 29(1) and mandatory allergen labelling and in addition seeks the inclusion of trans fats, fibre, folic acid, calcium, iron and vitamin D in the mandatory nutrition declaration.

Since January 2008 a number of meetings have taken place at European Union Working Group level, attended by officials from Department of Health and Children and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. The next meeting is due to take place on 6 July 2009.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the method by which labelling and nutritional and general food labelling obligations of fast food retail outlets are inspected or monitored; the agency or body responsible for same; the frequency of inspections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26258/09]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Responsibility for the enforcement of food labelling legislation in fast food retail outlets rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). Checks on compliance are incorporated into routine hygiene inspections for such establishments. These inspections are carried out by the Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) in the Health Service Executive (HSE) operating under a service contract with the FSAI.

The official controls (verification, inspection, audit, sampling and analysis, monitoring and surveillance) applying to food business operators, including fast food retail outlets, take in to account food safety requirements set out in law, the requirements of the Service Contract between HSE and FSAI, and the National Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Strategy. Also included in these inspections are checks on compliance with labelling regulations in retail, catering and some food processing outlets as appropriate. It is expected that the finalisation of the proposed European Commission labelling Regulation will result in the compulsory presentation of allergens and a nutritional declaration on the label. HSE labelling inspections are done as part of the normal routine food safety inspections.

Frequency of inspection is related to the risk categorisation of the establishment; (High, Medium, Low risk) the means by which establishments are categorised by HSE is set out in FSAI Code of Practice 1. This code also includes guidance to take account of the provisions in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 on general obligations with regard to the organisation of official controls.

While no separate figures are available for fast food outlets during 2008, 46,873 inspections were carried out in HSE supervised establishments. As an outcome of these inspections, 18,169 infringements of which 1,358 or 7.5% related to labelling were observed.