Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to ensure the better packaging and labelling of meat products sold here; if he will ensure that meat products marked was Irish made or produced will contain meat that is 100% reared, slaughtered and processed here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5263/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Rules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation. For beef, the current rules require compulsory origin labelling, with place of birth, rearing and slaughter specified.

In 2011 a new Food Information for the Consumer Regulation (1169/2011/ EC) provided a framework for extending explicit compulsory origin labelling requirements to meats other than beef, with the detailed rules to be adopted in implementing acts by 13 December 2013, following an impact assessment by the Commission. The Department of Health (DOH) is the lead department on labelling, but, my Department has played an important role in ensuring that Ireland was a strong proponent of extending compulsory origin labelling requirements to meats other than beef.

Under current rules the origin of processed products which undergo a "substantial transformation" may be regarded as the country in which that processing activity took place.

The Food Information for the Consumer Regulation also provides a framework for adopting rules on compulsory labelling where the origin or place of provenance of a food is given and where it is not the same as that of its primary ingredient. The Commission is currently conducting an impact assessment, and detailed rules are to be adopted in implementing acts by the end of this year. It is intended that the legislation will come into effect in 2014.

As the Deputy will be aware, the free movement of goods within the European Union provides that once goods (including meat) are produced in approved establishments in a Member State, which are under the supervision of authorities in that Member State, those goods are free to move within the Union without further official checks at borders within the Union. It would of course be entirely inconsistent with Single Market rules for a State to oblige processors to obtain raw materials from particular member states, and the application of such strictures to processors in other member states could potentially have an extremely detrimental effect on the agri-food industry in Ireland.

The principle underpinning the Single Market, which is a critical success factor for the agri food and other sectors in an export oriented economy like Ireland’s, is that horizontal public health and hygiene standards apply across the European Union and that each member state is responsible for ensuring that approved food premises within its jurisdiction comply with the relevant EU regulations. This system operates on the basis of a common application of the rules by veterinary authorities across the European Union, and is overseen by the Irish based European Food and Veterinary Office, which also conducts audits and inspections to ensure that the system is functioning correctly.

On the other hand, meat products imported from outside the EU must come from plants approved under the European Union veterinary inspection regime and having equivalent standards as that within the EU. Meat products entering the EU from a third country are subject to documentary, identity and (if considered necessary) physical checks to ensure compliance with the requirements.

My Department’s Veterinary Inspectors conduct audits on approved premises in Ireland. Audits on imported meat include physical identity, labelling and documentary checks. This includes product originating both in EU Member States and third countries. In addition, labelling and traceability checks form part of the routine checks conducted by Department officials. The Department maintains a permanent presence in approved slaughter plants. Regular visits are made to other Department approved meat plants. The frequency of these visits is determined by an annual risk assessment which is conducted for each plant. Checks are also conducted at retail level by the HSE, working under the aegis of the FSAI which has an overarching supervisory role in relation to labelling matters.