Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2015
277. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the delay in introducing legislation for country-of-origin labelling for all meat, including meat as an ingredient. [6950/15]
View answerRules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation.
For beef, compulsory labelling rules have been in place for many years, and require 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. This 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.
In 2011 the European Union passed the Food Information for the Consumers (FIC), Regulation 1169/2011, which has updated the requirements for consumer information and labelling in a number of areas. In particular, the FIC Regulation extends mandatory origin labelling to meats other than beef for the first time. The implementing provision is Commission Regulation No. 1337/2013, which introduces mandatory origin labelling for meat from pigs, poultry, sheep and goats from 1st April 2015. Under this regulation labelling is required to identify the Member State or third country of rearing and the Member State or third country of slaughter for these meats. The term 'Origin' can also be used where the country/member state of birth is the same as the country of rearing and slaughter. A Statutory Instrument is being prepared by my Department to ensure that the necessary provisions are in place to implement this mandatory labelling requirement from 1st April 2015. Ireland has been a strong proponent of such rules.
The FIC Regulation also refers to the more complex issues of origin labelling meat as an ingredient, and instances where the country of origin of a food is given and it is not the same as that of its primary ingredient. In the case of these provisions, the Commission was required to prepare reports on the impact of mandatory country of origin or place of provenance rules. In the case of the use of meat as an ingredient, the Commission may accompany these reports with legislative proposals.
In relation to the labelling of meat as an ingredient, the European Commission published a report in December 2013 which was subsequently discussed at a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in March last year. There were diverging views among Member States as to the introduction of mandatory provisions for meat as an ingredient, with a number of Member States calling for further analysis from the Commission. The report has also been considered by the European Parliament which, only last week, passed a resolution calling for the Commission to come forward with legislative proposals.
During the discussions in Council, I expressed the opinion that given the complexity of the issue I believed that further analysis is required before such measures can be finalised. Issues requiring further attention include the potential additional cost to consumers, the additional regulatory impact and cost on industry, the extent to which potentially detailed and complex origin labels that might result would add to clarity and transparency for consumers, and the potential impact on intra community trade. I await the Commission's response to the discussions in the Council and in the European Parliament, which should provide the opportunity to address all these outstanding issues.
