My Department records all details of companies that request licences for the import of beef from outside the European Union. Meat products imported from outside the EU must come from plants approved under the European Union veterinary inspection regime and have equivalent standards as that within the EU. Meat products entering the EU from a third country are subject to documentary, identity and, if considered necessary, physical checks to ensure compliance with the requirements.
In addition, the Revenue Commissioners record details of companies that import beef into the country where the imports from that company exceed a threshold value of €191,000 per calendar year. This information is collected on behalf of the CSO for statistical purposes only.
In response to a Parliamentary Question from the Deputy on 13 November, I noted that 13,473 tonnes of beef had been imported into Ireland from the UK in the year to date. This figure relates to total beef imports from the UK and does not refer specifically to product which is imported and then re-exported. Of course, in line with the free movement of goods, companies can choose to import beef from another Member State, add further value to that product, and subsequently export the finished products to other destinations, and this is common practice in Ireland. In all cases, exported food products which require veterinary certification by my Department under EU rules are recorded and certified in line with the relevant regulations.
Harmonised EU rules require mandatory traceability and origin labelling for beef from slaughterhouse to point of sale to consumers with the objective of providing maximum transparency for the marketing of beef. Compulsory beef labelling requires food business operators to label fresh, frozen or minced beef with specific information to enable the product to be traced back to the animals from which it was derived and must include details of the slaughterhouse and de-boning hall in which the animal was processed as well as the country in which it was born and reared. Beef imported into Ireland for deboning, and subsequently re-exported, must meet the same compulsory labelling requirements.
