Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 January 2013
211. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of traceability inspections carried out by his Department in respect of beef, lamb and poultry imports in each of the past four years; the number of breaches of the regulations detected and the actions taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3205/13]
View answerConsignments of products of animal origin imported into Ireland from outside the EU are generally checked at a Border Inspection Post (BIP) on arrival in Ireland. There are two product BIPs in Ireland, at Dublin port and Shannon airport, operated by my Department. Controls on imported products consist of three types of checks – documentary, identity and physical. All consignments from such countries have a documentary and identity check and a proportion of products as laid down in legislation are subject to physical checks. Other appropriate checks apply in cases where it is suspected that legislation has not been complied with or there is some other doubt about the consignment. Details of the checks carried out are set out in the following table:
|
2009 |
Total Consignments |
Failure |
Outcome |
Action |
|
Poultry |
557 |
2 |
Rejection |
Returned to 3rd Country of Origin |
|
Beef |
239 |
0 |
||
|
Lamb |
13 |
0 |
||
|
2010 |
||||
|
Poultry |
475 |
2 |
Rejection |
Returned to Country of Origin |
|
Beef |
196 |
1 |
Rejection |
Returned to Country of Origin |
|
Lamb |
11 |
0 |
||
|
2011 |
||||
|
Poultry |
550 |
1 |
Rejection |
Destruction |
|
Beef |
85 |
0 |
||
|
Lamb |
18 |
0 |
||
|
2012 |
||||
|
Poultry |
485 |
2 |
Rejection |
Returned to Country of Origin |
|
Beef |
109 |
0 |
||
|
Lamb |
10 |
0 |
EU law provides for the free movement of goods between Member States. On that basis, meat and meat products produced in an establishment which is approved under relevant regulation can be moved freely within the EU. The onus of compliance with EU food safety regulations, including traceability requirements, rests in the first instance with food business operators. Food business operators in Ireland are responsible for carrying out checks to ensure that their ingredients come from approved plants. In meat plants that operate under the supervision of my Department my officials conduct audits on these checks to verify their effectiveness.
An annual audit of imported products is carried out in each Department approved meat plant. The audit includes physical identity, labelling and documentary checks. This includes product originating both in EU Member States and third countries. In addition, labelling and documentary checks form part of the routine checks conducted by Department officials. The Department maintains a permanent presence in approved slaughter plants. Regular visits are made to other Department approved meat plants. The frequency of these visits is determined by an annual risk assessment which is conducted for each plant.
Details on the number of inspections at Department approved meat plants are set out in the following table:
|
Year |
No. of inspections |
No. of Compliance Notices Issued |
|
2009 |
10,144 |
151 |
|
2010 |
8,924 |
55 |
|
2011 |
7,189 |
51 |
|
2012* |
4,565 |
32 |
(*Provisional figures, relating to the period January-September 2012)
