Vol. 465 No. 7
110 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the steps, if any, he has taken to enable the label Country of Origin to be placed on food products in Ireland and in Europe; and if he has pursued the labelling of products with Country of Origin with his counterparts in Europe. [10492/96]
In the course of a reply which the Minister of State with responsibility for commerce, science and technology gave to a number of questions relating to the Expert Advisory Group on Beef Products (cols. 110-119 of the Official Report) on 17 April 1996 he made clear that our existing food labelling regulations are based on European Union directives, which have effect in each member state of the Union.
These directives require that prepacked foods must be labelled with the name of the food; the list of ingredients; the net quantity; the date of minimum durability or "use by" date; any special storage instructions; the name and address of packer, manufacturer etc.; the country or origin, only if its absence is likely to mislead consumers; the instructions for use, where necessary; the alcoholic strength over 1.2 per cent; and the indication of irradiation or treatment with ionising rediation.
The purpose of the regulations is to inform consumers of the content of the food they eat. The regulations are enforced rigorously by the Director of Consumer Affairs.
