Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Jun 2001

Vol. 539 No. 1

Written Answers. - Beef Labelling Scheme.

Brendan Howlin

Question:

48 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the plans he has to enhance the labelling scheme for beef which is being introduced as a result of EU regulations, to include products such as meat pies which include beef; if he has given consideration to the need for non-EU beef and beef products to include a label giving details about the age, origin and rearing of the animal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18814/01]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

The European Union adopted regulations last year to introduce compulsory labelling of beef at all stages of production and marketing up to and including the final point of sale to the consumer. Under the regulations, which are being introduced in two phases, operators or organisations involved in the production and marketing of beef are required to label beef with certain compulsory information. The regulations apply to only to beef and there are no proposals, at this time, to extend the compulsory measures to include beef products such as pies.

The first phase, introduced on 1 September 2000, requires the following information to be provided: a reference number or code which enables the beef to be traced back to the animal or group of animals from which it was derived, the approval number of the slaughterhouse and member state or third country in which it is located and the approval number of the de-boning hall and member state or third country in which it is located. The second phase will be introduced on 1 January 2002 and will require beef to be labelled with information concerning the origin of the animals from which the beef was derived, in particular where the animals were born, fattened and slaughtered.

These measures apply to beef produced in all member states of the European Union and the compulsory beef labelling system also applies to beef and beef products imported into the EU. In order to ensure that labelling arrangements relating to imported beef are of equivalent reliability to those applicable to EU beef, the Commission examines notifications received from third countries. Once the Commission is satisfied that the procedures and criteria applied in the country concerned are equivalent to those in the EU, it transmits notifications to the member states. In order to guarantee the reliability of the labelling system in third countries, the Commission may request additional information or carry out checks in the third country.