Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2018
511. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department tested for microplastics in farmed shellfish and finfish here prior to awarding an organic label to the industry. [43802/18]
View answerMy Department remains the Competent Authority under EU regulations but has delegated the certification function to independent control bodies, in accordance with the relevant EU regulations and in common with the practice in many other countries across the EU. The control bodies in question act under formal service agreements with my Department and are themselves subject to audit by my Department, by INAB (the Irish National Accreditation Board) and by the various EU audit authorities.
The organic status of food products including shellfish and finfish here in Ireland is certified by rigorous on-going assessment undertaken on behalf of my Department by the Organic Control Bodies referred to above. While tests for micro plastics are not specifically undertaken, my Department is advised by the Marine Institute that while it is clear from several studies that micro-plastics are present in the environment and can be filtered by bivalve shellfish, there is little evidence on the impact to human health of such micro-plastic pollution.
