Vol. 570 No. 2
218 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on reports that substantial amounts of beef are being imported into the country, bought by the hotel and catering trade and subsequently served to consumers unaware of their origin; and if he will actively encourage the catering trade to use Irish beef and label it as such. [18825/03]
According to the Central Statistics Office, almost 14,000 tonnes of beef was imported into Ireland in 2002 and Ireland exported some 445,000 tonnes in that year. In the retail sector, there is a legal requirement that certain details of origin must be included on labels of such beef. However, there is no statutory requirement on the food service sector. Accordingly, most food service outlets do not inform their customers of the origin of their beef. As a result of concerns expressed by consumers on this and other issues, I established a food labelling group to examine issues surrounding food labelling in general. This group reported to me last December and this specific issue was raised in the context of the group's recommendations.
There was full agreement within the food labelling group that consumers have a right to information on the origin of the meat they cook in their homes or eat out. However, differences were expressed on how origin should be defined. While the group could not agree on how origin should be defined, there was unanimous agreement that further research was necessary to establish consumers' wishes in this area. I have since established an interdepartmental agency committee to progress the recommendations contained in this report. This committee is comprised of the Departments of Agriculture and Food, Health and Children, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources; the Food Safety Authority of Ireland; and the Food Safety Promotion Board.
The consumer liaison panel has drawn up a strategy for consumer research to establish the concerns of consumers in respect of food labelling generally. This strategy includes the issue of origin. I have provided the funding for the research and the consumer liaison panel has sought tenders for the carrying out of the research, which should begin shortly.
