Vol. 554 No. 5
313 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the measures he intends to take to ensure that the consumer is aware of the origin of the beef sold here, both the retail and prepared food sectors including restaurants and hotels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16189/02]
Arrangements are in place to ensure full traceability of beef at all stages of production and marketing, up to and including the final point of sale to the retail consumer. These measures include the following beef labelling requirements: a reference number or code which enables the beef to be traced back to an 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; the approval number of the de-boning hall and member state or third country in which it is located; the member state or third country where the animal was born was fattened and was slaughtered.
As regards the extension of similar detailed labelling rules to sales of food products through the catering and food service sector, I have asked that this be among the areas to be considered by a committee which I have recently established to examine food labelling in general. This committee, which is chaired by Mr. Ned Sullivan and is broadly representative of food industry and consumer interests, is due to report by the end of the year.
With regard to the importation of de-boned fresh beef, minced meat, meat preparations and meat products of UK origin, products must be sourced under the EU approved date-based export scheme and approved premises in the UK, and from bovines under the export certified herd scheme in Northern Ireland.
Products of foreign origin coming from the UK must comply with special marking and labelling conditions and be sourced from designated slaughter plants and processing premises. All such products must be processed in export approved premises, XAP, and only such goods may be dispatched from the UK from officially approved establishments.
To minimise any risks that might be associated with trade with third countries in food products, strict rules governing the importation of animal products from non-EU countries have been put in place at EU level. In particular, the EU Commission must approve the country of origin and the establishment in which the product was produced in advance of importation. The granting of approvals is dependent on such factors as the animal health status of the country, the adequacy of its veterinary structures, facilities of the production establishment and employment of good hygiene practices. Third country production plants are inspected by veterinary experts from the food and veterinary office of the European Commission.
On arrival in the EU, a third country product is subject to official inspection at the first port of arrival. This includes checks on accompanying documents, on identity and labelling and random physical checks on the product itself. If these checks indicate that everything is in order importation is authorised and thereafter the product may circulate freely. Ireland, being a member of the European Union, is obliged under EU legislation to allow the free circulation of legally imported goods within the EU.
