Proinsias De Rossa
Question:14 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the action being taken to ensure that pet food does not contain meat and bonemeal. [4250/01]
Written Answers. - Pet Food.
The production of pet food is covered by a number of EU and national legislative instruments. The basic rules governing the operation of the industry are set down in the European Communities (Disposal, Processing and Placing on the Market of Animal By-products) Regulations, 1994, SI 257 of 1994). Under this legislation, which transposes the relevant EU Council directive into Irish law, there is no legal impediment to the incorporation of meat and bonemeal into pet food. The recent temporary EU ban on the feeding of meat and bonemeal permits the feeding of such protein to pets. In Ireland, the use of meat and bonemeal in the manufacture of pet food is subject to a licensing system. There are no such licenses in operation at present.