Vol. 449 No. 3
50 Mr. Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if new regulations have been introduced for the manufacture of meat products such as sausages in recent times; and the implications, if any, for the meat processing industry. [1415/95]
Regulations have been introduced transposing Directive 88/657/EEC on the production and placing on the market of minced meat and meat preparations including the type of sausages marketed in Ireland. Directive 94/65/EC amending this directive was adopted by the Council of Agriculture Ministers in December last. Salami type sausages are covered by Directive 77/99/EEC.
The regulations on minced meat and meat preparations relate to wholesale premises only and cover the structure of establishments, the type of meat used and hygiene controls. They require all wholesale premises manufacturing minced meat and meat preparations to reach the standards of the directive by the end of 1995. These standards are the same for all premises irrespective of whether they are involved in production for export or for the domestic market.
However, subsequent to the adoption of these regulations, it was recognised that the imposition of these standards would place a costly and unnecessary burden on premises whose product is confined to the domestic market and which are already being operated in a hygienic manner. The amendment agreed in December permits wholesale plants producing exclusively for the domestic market to operate to slightly less rigorous standards.
Irish plants currently producing minced meat or meat preparations for export are already operating to the required standards. While some plants currently producing exclusively for the domestic market may have to incur some capital expenditure to bring their premises up to the standards, the majority of these plants will not have any major difficulty in complying.
