Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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1214. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline some of the measures taken by his Department and the relevant agencies to improve the food traceability system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38273/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Harmonised rules relating to food labelling and traceability are laid down at EU level. In Ireland, the Minister for Health has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation at both EU and domestic level. However my Department plays a collaborative role in policy and enforcement, together with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). In this regard, EU Food Information for the Consumer Regulation adopted in 2011 provides a framework for providing information to consumers in relation to the provenance of food, and provides for the extension of compulsory origin labelling to meats other than beef. I have been a strong proponent of appropriate food labelling and my Department will play an active part in deliberations in how best to implement these provisions, once the Commission has completed its impact analysis on the matter later this year.

In relation to traceability, the identification and registration of cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and equines is also governed by EU Regulations and these Regulations have been transposed into national law. My Department's Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database is a generic system that records identification and movement data on cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. The AIM system was developed using Internet-based technology and the majority of interactions with the system are electronic transactions. This system is widely recognised as among the best in the world.

In the wake of the horsemeat incident earlier this year, my Department is introducing a range of measures to improve traceability systems in the equine sector and is liaising with passport issuing agencies in Ireland in this regard. Protocols to allow abattoir operators to cross check the details of passports with these agencies have been developed, aimed at ensuring that only those horses eligible for slaughter are slaughtered. The Department is also developing a central database of horses which will involve migration of selected data from passport issuing agencies. The database is being populated with information provided from the databases maintained by the agencies, by the Department from records obtained at slaughter plants and knackeries and by local authorities in respect of records maintained at appropriate slaughter plants. The intention is that this database will be used at abattoirs to assist in verifying the authenticity of the passport for the equine presented and to record its date of slaughter.