Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which all food imports into this country remain subject to Irish and EU standards in respect of husbandry, processing and production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25527/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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All food placed on the market in Ireland must conform to the European Union's food safety standards. These standards place specific food safety requirements on businesses placing food on the market in Ireland or in any other EU member state. These requirements, which are laid out in a series of European regulations, apply to all food businesses whether they are primary producers, processors, retailers or importers of food. They set clearly defined standards for all stages of the food supply chain and place a legal responsibility on food businesses to comply with them. Food businesses are in turn subject to regulatory checks, called official controls, which are laid out in EU Regulation 2017/625, by inspectors either from my Department, the HSE or Local Authorities depending on the type of food being produced or the stage of production and supply. The purpose of these controls is to ensure the food businesses are operating in compliance with the requirements of EU and national legislation.

Imports of food into the EU are similarly subject to mandatory official controls at defined border control posts to ensure that they conform with all of the EU's food safety standards. Officers from my Department operate in four border control posts in Ireland, at the ports of Dublin and Rosslare, and Dublin and Shannon Airports. These officers carried out just over 95,000 import controls in 2022.

Food imports that are subject to import controls at BCPs include products of animal origin and foods of non-animal origin that could present food safety risks. The controls required include documentary, identity and physical inspections including laboratory analysis at frequencies laid down in EU legislation. Consignments found not to comply with these requirements are rejected and are either destroyed or re-exported to the country of origin, in compliance with the rules laid down in EU Regulation 2017/625.