Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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456. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why he took no action to ensure that Irish producers of organic farmed salmon meet the requirements under European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009, given that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland was alerted in February 2016 that organic salmon was being marketed here without the warning required to inform consumers that the product had been treated with chemical veterinary products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17940/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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457. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his plans to ensure that the public is made aware of when chemically treated organic salmon is marketed, as required under European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009. [17941/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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458. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why he took no action to ensure that Irish producers meet the requirement to protect the consumer, given that organic salmon is being marketed without the warning required under European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009 to inform consumers that the product had been treated with chemical veterinary products; and his plans to address this and to protect consumers. [17942/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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461. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that the European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009 requires that packaging states clearly when a product has been treated with chemical veterinary products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17937/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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462. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his plans to ensure that stocks of organic salmon treated with chemical veterinary products are clearly identifiable to the consumer and that any products on the market without this warning are withdrawn from the market and no further organic products permitted on the market without meeting European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009. [17938/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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463. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why his Department holds no relevant records, given that the European Commission Regulation No. 710/2009 requires that whenever veterinary medicinal products are used such use is declared to the control body or the control authority before the animals are marketed as organic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17939/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 456 to 458, inclusive, and questions Nos. 461 to 463, inclusive, together.

Under Commission Regulation No. 710/2009 of 5 August 2009, the use of veterinary treatments is permitted in certain circumstances, provided the governing conditions are adhered to.

If veterinary medicinal products are used, such use must be declared to the Control Body or the Control Authority before the animals are marketed as organic. My Department, as the Competent Authority, has delegated control tasks to five Organic Control Bodies, who receive all such declarations and hold all relevant records.

In addition, Regulation 710/2009 provides that treated stock are to be clearly identifiable. In the case of fish, for example, this means that any batches of fish that have been treated can be identified at the point of production, to ensure amongst other things that the required withdrawal period for the treatment in question is being observed. However, this is an issue of record keeping, not labelling of packaging. Organic operators meet this requirement by maintaining information at their premises giving details of the purpose, date of application, method of application, type of product and relevant withdrawal period, as well as by the declaration of such use to the Control Body and by making all required information available to the Control Body.

It is also important to note that the withdrawal period between the last administration of any such veterinary treatment and the production of organic produced foodstuffs from such animals is twice the withdrawal period applicable for non-organic production for the medicine in question. If the fish are treated in full compliance with the provisions laid down in the Regulation, then they fulfil all the requirements of organic production and may be labelled and sold as such.