Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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89. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which traceability continues to be enforced throughout the food production sector, with particular reference to the need to ensure clear indication regarding the origin, husbandry, compliance with national, international and European Union regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34843/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My colleague the Minister for Health has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation and the new EU food information regulations which were adopted by the Council of Health Ministers in December 2011. However, my Department plays an important role in the enforcement of this legislation under service contract to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). Primary responsibility under EU law for the safety and traceability of food placed on the market lies with food business operators (FBOs). The role of National Competent Agencies is to verify compliance with this requirement. This is done through a combination of inspecting establishments and auditing the food safety management systems which operators are required to have in place. These controls are applied at different stages in the food supply chain.

Regulation (EC) No. 178 of 2002 sets out the general principles and requirements of EU food law and stipulates that FBOs at all stages of production, processing and distribution within the businesses under their control, must ensure that the requirements of food law are satisfied. In regard to traceability, the regulations require that FBOs must have systems in place to identify any person from whom they have been supplied with a food. They must also have a system in place to identify the other businesses to which their product has been supplied. This is commonly referred to as the ‘one step forward, one step backward’ traceability system. There are additional traceability requirements for certain fishery and aquaculture products under the Control Regulation (Regulation 1224/2009 and its Implementing Regulation 404/2011) from first sale to subsequent stages of production, processing and distribution up to retail.

My Department has a permanent veterinary presence at all its approved slaughter plants. Controls at plants only engaged in secondary processing are carried out at a frequency based on an annual risk assessment. An annual audit of imported products is also carried out in each Department-approved plant, which includes checks on physical identity, labelling and documentary checks for product originating both in EU Member States and third countries. Labelling and documentary checks also form part of the routine checks conducted by the Department.

The import of products of animal origin from third countries is governed by a comprehensive and robust legislative framework laid down at EU level, controlled by EU Member States in the first instance, and audited by the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), to ensure compliance with all of the relevant food safety standards. The legislation imposes a series of health and supervisory requirements, designed to ensure that imported products meet standards at least equivalent to those required for production and trade between Member States. Border Inspection Posts are operated by my Department. The import controls procedures on products of animal and fish origin are highly prescriptive and strictly audited by the FVO to ensure compliance. Reports of the findings of inspections are published on the FVO’s website.

In order to import fish or fishery products into Ireland from a third country, the person who wishes to import the products is required to register with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA). The SFPA and the Border Inspection Posts operate an agreed sampling plan, which is reviewed annually, to ensure that they meet the EU criteria with respect to potential contaminants, and for the presence of any medical residues or where there is concern that the product may not be fit for human consumption.

Specific requirements for consumer information for fishery and aquaculture products such as more detailed information on provenance are also set down in EU Regulations under (EU 1379/2013) on the common organisation of markets. The Regulations on fish labelling are enforced by the SFPA as part of ongoing official controls in food establishments under their supervision. Comprehensive labelling checks including country of origin are carried out in establishments under SFPA official control as part of routine inspections by authorised officers and at retail level by the Environmental Officers.

Rules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation. For beef, compulsory rules have been in place for many years, and require food business operators to label fresh, frozen or minced beef with specific information to enable the product to be traced back to the animals from which it was derived. This must include details of the slaughterhouse and de-boning hall in which the animal was processed, and the country in which it was born, reared and slaughtered. In 2011 the European Union passed the Food Information for the Consumers (FIC), Regulation 1169/2011, which is applicable to all foods intended for the final consumer and including foods delivered to mass caterers. In particular, the FIC Regulation extends mandatory origin labelling to meats other than beef for the first time. The implementing provision is Commission Regulation No. 1337/2013, which introduced mandatory origin labelling for meat from pigs, poultry, sheep and goats with effect from the 1 April 2015. Under this regulation, labelling is required to identify the Member State or third country of rearing and the Member State or third country of slaughter for these meats. The term ‘Origin’ can also be used where the country/member state of birth is the same as the country of rearing and slaughter.

Ireland has been a strong proponent of such rules and I have signed into law a new Statutory Instrument to ensure that the necessary provisions are in place to implement this mandatory labelling requirement. In addition, my Department is working closely with the Department of Health with a view to extending the legislation to include ‘loose meats’ e.g. meat cuts sold through butcher counters. I expect rules to cover loose meats to be introduced before the end of the year.