Denis Naughten
Question:36 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the mechanisms he is putting in place to improve the traceability of meat consumed here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3882/03]
Written Answers. - Food Safety Standards.
EU regulations introduced in 2000 require operators marketing beef in the Community to label it with certain compulsory indications so as to ensure full traceability of the beef. The compulsory labelling must provide the following information: 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 deboning hall and member state or third country in which it is located; and the member state or third country where the animal was born, fattened and slaughtered.
Although EU regulations are directly applicable in this country, the European Communities (Labelling of Beef and Beef Products) Regulations 2000 – SI 435 of 2000 – were introduced to make provision for the operation of inspection and control measures, whereby veterinary inspectors of my Department have responsibility for ensuring compliance in EU approved plants, the local authority veterinary service have responsibility for domestic abattoirs and the health boards have responsibility at retail level. Furthermore, these regulations have been included in the 2003 service contract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which provides the authority with an oversight role with regard to beef labelling.