Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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465. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the dangers of spreading dog faeces on tillage fields was included in the 2008 report by the Food Safety Authority; his plans to investigate the potential health risks of spreading dog faeces on tillage fields with regard to dog breeding establishment owners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15011/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The land-spreading of manures is controlled by the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014, as amended. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is the lead Department for these regulations.

The 2008 FSAI report provided a “scientific opinion on the food safety implications most likely to be associated with land-spreading organic agricultural, municipal and industrial materials on agricultural land used for food production in Ireland against the background of current practices”. Use of dog faeces from dog breeding establishments was not part of landspread practices at that time so was not considered in the report; and it is understood that any current usage is minimal. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has responsibility in conjunction with local authorities for the regulation of dog breeding establishments under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010.

My Department works in close collaboration with the FSAI in the administration of EU and national regulatory requirements relating to food safety. Official controls on primary production of horticultural produce include an assessment of measures in place by the food business operator to control contamination arising from the soil including the hazards presented by faeces in organic waste. The Department’s  inspectors are cognisant  of the recommendations set out by the FSAI in their 2008 report on land-spreading and in their 2016 publication on Fresh Produce Safety. Furthermore, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, requires food business operators to be able to identify any person from whom they have been supplied with any substance (including organic fertilisers/animal manure) intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food and make this information available to the competent authority on demand. This traceability check on organic fertiliser inputs is conducted as part of my Department’s official controls.