Written answers

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Department of Agriculture, Marine and Food

Proposed Legislation

9:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 523: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is drafting legislation that will result in the banning of raw milk; if there has been a public consultation on this issue; if not, the reason therefor; if he has reviewed the potential impact of a ban on raw milk on cheesemongers and other producers and businesses; if he is considering any other regulations for this industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18270/11]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The reason for maintaining a ban on the sale of raw milk for human consumption is to protect public health. This is based on strong advice from both food safety and public health professionals. There have been very serious health issues associated with the drinking of raw milk in Ireland and in a number of other countries.

The introduction of S.I. No. 910 of 2005 to implement the EU Food and Feed Hygiene Regulations in 2006 had the effect of removing the existing legal basis for the prohibition of the sale of raw cows milk for direct human consumption under S.I. No. 9 of 1996. Consideration was then given to extending the ban to cover goats and sheep milk. A consultation process was held during 2008 to determine public views on the proposal to extend the ban to include goats and sheep milk. Seventeen responses were received. Neither my Department nor the Food Safety Authority of Ireland were convinced that the submissions received provided any justification to oppose the expert advice that the extended ban should be supported in legislation.

While public health is the overriding consideration, it is also worth noting that legislation required to allow the sale of raw milk on a restricted basis would be much more complicated and would impose very significant extra cost on my Department in relation to oversight and enforcement. Failure to adequately oversee such high-risk business operations could result in serious national and international reputational risk, for instance in the event of an outbreak of TB being linked to the consumption of raw milk purchased from an establishment approved by the competent authority. It should be noted that the prevalence of TB in herds in Ireland puts us in a different position to most other Member States in the EU where the disease has been eradicated. It is inappropriate that Ireland should adopt the same approach to the consumption of raw milk as countries that do not have the same difficulty with TB and therefore have no associated risk.

In all the circumstances I am satisfied that a ban on the sale of raw milk for human consumption is fully justified. I do not propose to ban the sale of cheese or other products manufactured from raw milk, as the same risk to public health does not arise.

Article 10 (8) of EU Regulation 853 of 2004 provides that a Member State may, of its own initiative and subject to the general provisions of the Treaty, maintain or establish national rules prohibiting or restricting the placing on the market within its territory of raw milk or raw cream intended for direct human consumption. Section 54 of the Health Act of 1947 (as amended by Section 25 of the Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006) has been identified as the appropriate primary legislation for this purpose and the Department of Health has agreed to promote a Statutory Instrument under that Act on behalf of my Department. The latest indicative timeframe for the introduction of the S.I. is end 2011, which includes allowance for a 3-month EU notification period.

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