Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 February 2019
153. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the person or body Bord Bia has commissioned to carry out quality assurance audits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8890/19]
View answerBord Bia currently operates seven Quality Assurance Schemes.
The Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) are the two biggest schemes. Agridata and Capita Customer Solutions were selected as independent auditor bodies for farm audits, following a public procurement process in 2017.
For the other Quality Assurance Schemes, i.e Pigs, Poultry, Eggs, Horticulture and Meat Processors, a panel of individual auditors by sector was selected following a public procurement process, with contracts awarded in early 2018. The panel consists of 5 pig auditors, 4 poultry auditors, 4 egg farm auditors, 8 horticulture auditors and 10 meat processor auditors.
All of the Bord Bia schemes are accredited by INAB (the Irish National Accreditation Board). Bord Bia receives an annual audit from INAB. The accreditation process also involves initial and ongoing assessment of the auditors’ competence.
