Trevor Sargent
Question:144 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the grading system, if any, that is applied by his Department for beef produced in Ireland for retail and consumption in Ireland. [7909/96]
Written Answers. - Beef Grading System.
Trevor Sargent
Question:145 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the grading system that defines beef cuts as being prime choice, choice quality, good quality, commercial quality, cutter quality and canners quality; whether these grades apply to Irish produced beef for the home market, the EU market and third country markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7910/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.
My Department has responsibility for the grading of beef produced at export approved slaughter premises under the relevant EU regulations. This system provides for the classification of all animals according to fat coverage, weight, conformation and sex. This system operates at the wholesale rather than the retail stage.
An Bord Bia, in co-operation with various export approved premises, operates the quality assurance scheme, which provides for a farm to retail outlet monitoring scheme for beef. This scheme is designed to provide the consumer with certain assurances about the origins of beef.
The terms referred to by the Deputy are commercial terms and have no official status.