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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 3 Apr 2003

Vol. 564 No. 3

Written Answers - Food Safety Standards.

Willie Penrose

Question:

9 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he is concerned at the fact that a substantial number of imported chicken fillets from the Netherlands are massively bulked up with water and animal proteins; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8842/03]

I am aware, principally from investigations conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, that chicken fillets containing water and other added ingredients are imported into this country.

While the FSAI investigation conducted in early 2002 indicated that the fillets contained pork and beef-based ingredients, their investigation of February this year found no recurring evidence of this. It goes without saying that all ingredients in processed food must be safe for human consumption and the FSAI has found no evidence that these processed chicken fillets pose any risk for human health. That said, it is also important that the labelling of food is in full compliance with the regulations so that consumers are fully aware of the exact nature of, and the ingredients contained in, products they purchase. FSAI found that this was not the case in relation to chicken fillet imports from the Netherlands in the past.
While the enforcement of general labelling regulations is a matter for the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, I have been concerned for some time about food labelling issues generally. As a result, I established the food labelling group to examine the broad issues concerning food labelling and this group reported in December 2002. I have recently agreed a strategy for the implementation of the recommendations set out in that report and to this end an interdepartmental agency/committee is being set up to monitor the functioning of that strategy.
There is no legislation governing the amount of water that may be added to processed chicken products such as those products which are the subject of the FSAI enquiries. However, in the case of unprocessed chicken, that is to say poultry that has undergone no treatment other than freezing, the amount of water that may be absorbed during the preparation and chilling process is controlled under European Union regulations on poultrymeat marketing standards.
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