Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 205: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the measures being taken to address the problems experienced by lobster and crab fishermen in Ireland in view of the fact that products processed here, which have been imported from the US and Canada, are being sold as EU products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21212/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Under EU legislation (Council Regulation 104/2000 and Commission Regulation 2065/2001) fishery products, including Lobsters must be labelled with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation catchment, common name and species name. The food business operator must also be in a position to trace the fishery product (Lobster) one step back in the supply chain, and ensuring that all labelling information from the supplier is maintained during the forward selling process, including, to the consumer. The main legislation covering the labelling, presentation and advertising of food in Ireland is EU Directive 2001/13/EC, European Communities (Labelling, Presentation and Advertising of Foodstuffs) Regulations 2002 (SI483/2002) and EU Directive 2003/89/EC which states that the consumer must not be misled with regard to labelling. It would therefore be contrary the food labelling regulations for imported US/Canadian lobster to be labelled as originating in the EU. Origin labelling does bring its own complexities with provisions in customs legislation for imported foods to undergo 'substantial transformation' to assume the origin of the country where that processing occurred.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) is responsible for verification of accurate labelling in seafood establishments up to but not including retail. Such checks including accurate origin labelling, are incorporated into ongoing official controls at those establishments. The SFPA maintains a confidential helpline whereby information on potential non-compliances in seafood sector can be confidentially passed on for investigation by the appropriate agency.

Responsibility for the enforcement of food labelling legislation in retail outlets rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). Checks on compliance are incorporated into routine inspections of retail 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.