Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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541. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if EU wide DNA testing of meat will be made a permanent feature of the meat processing industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18786/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The adulteration of beef products with horsemeat was initially discovered by the official control regime in Ireland, where advanced DNA testing methods were used in a Food Safety Authority of Ireland survey on meat authenticity. The presence of equine DNA discovered in a single burger here ultimately uncovered a pan European problem. I arranged, in my role as President of the Agriculture Council, to have the matter discussed at EU level and the Commission promptly proposed the EU testing programme, the results of which were published on 16 April.

The results show that, across the EU, there were 4,144 tests under the equine DNA programme of which 193 were positive. In Ireland, all of the results of the 50 DNA tests on Irish beef products under the EU programme were negative. In addition there were 7,951 tests reported for equine DNA carried out by food business operators across the EU, of which 110 were positive. Under the Irish national DNA testing regime the results of 2,185 DNA tests published by the FSAI to date showed only a small number of positives (32 representing 9 products), all of which were published previously and related to products withdrawn from the market.

Consideration is being given at EU level to the outcome of these tests to determine what further action is required. In the meantime, DNA testing is being carried out under national protocol by food business operators in Ireland and the results are being published by the FSAI.