Irish farmers call for stricter controls on meat imports

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is calling for additional EU-wide measures to address the horsemeat scandal, encompassing the retail sector and offering local authorities the power to shut down processors committing breaches. The Association has also proposed that, each month, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) publishes the names of meat importers and volumes imported.

“The retail sector, including foodservice operators and restaurants, must implement clear labelling and ensure consumers have full traceability on all meat,” said ​John Bryan, IFA president, claiming the race to the bottom on prices has contributed to short-cuts being taken at secondary processing level.​
 
“Retailers must ensure acceptable standards and quality are always maintained for consumers, and regulation must be urgently introduced by the government and at EU level so producers are paid a fair price which reflects production costs and a reasonable margin.”​

Bryan said the Irish meat industry should be protected through rigorous inspection, which would see processors engaging in fraud, mislabelling or inadequate quality standards stripped of their licence.

He questioned the need for processors to import beef when RoI is self-sufficient many times over, citing imports totalling an annual 47,000 tonnes against RoI production of 500,000 tonnes. Bord Bía’s Quality Assurance Scheme should be adopted across industry, including secondary processors, with clear labelling and traceability mandatory in the retail and foodservice sectors.

Investigation continues​

Irish investigations into the horsemeat scandal continue, with gardai and officials from the DAFM's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) carrying out “forensic examination”​ of electronic data and records related to beef imports.

Irish food business operators including traders, transporters, processors and exporters are also under investigation. B&F Meats, an Irish plant approved to debone beef and horsemeat was recently shut down by officials after it was revealed that it had been supplying horsemeat labelled as beef to a customer in the Czech Republic via a UK meat trader.

Agriculture minister Simon Coveney said: “I am seriously concerned about this development and the Gardai have been fully appraised of this development and are working closely with my Department. The issue here is one of mislabelling and that will be the focus of the investigation”.​

Testing​

In addition to the EU-wide programme of DNA testing to be conducted in March, RoI is introducing mandatory testing on a quarterly basis.

The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has also agreed a national testing protocol with processors, retailers, caterers and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).