Vol. 573 No. 4
111 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will introduce legislation to stop food being classified as certified organic when it is not in compliance with certification requirements, in view of the fact that the European regulations that define the standards are still not enforced here after 12 years. [25671/03]
It was only in 2000 that the EU regulation on organic farming was extended to the livestock sector. This sector accounts for the bulk of organic production in Ireland. Work then began on the preparation of secondary legislation empowering my officials to enforce the regulation. Shortly afterwards, however, an application was made by an organic organisation to the High Court for a judicial review of the proposals for implementing the regulation. I was advised that it would not be appropriate to introduce secondary legislation until the court had given its judgment. The High Court gave judgment, in my Department's favour, earlier this year. My officials immediately began discussions with the three bodies representing Irish organic operators, with a view to reaching agreement on arrangements for the future regulation of the sector. I hope these discussions can be concluded shortly. At that stage I intend to introduce the necessary secondary legislation. It should of course be borne in mind that general legislation, not specifi cally related to the organic sector, already exists to protect the consumer against false labelling of goods and produce.
The Minister mentioned 2000. I am not sure if we are speaking about the same directive. I am referring to directive EC/2092/91. I would like confirmation from the Minister that this is the correct directive which includes amendments defining organic farming and which requires national member states to put in place legislation by way of statutory instrument to deal with people wrongly labelling organic produce. We have had examples of many types of mislabelling from beef to poultry. We are now dealing, internationally, with GMOs. Even products such as queen's potatoes are being wrongly labelled and a cheaper and inferior product is being sold. The Minister should not waste time and should ensure the required statutory instrument is put in place. One of the groups, IOFGA, was approved in 1993. Why was the statutory instrument not put in place then? The Government was already required to do so. What advice does the Minister offer to growers who are subject to inspection, are required to keep records and to pay a licence fee, when they come up against another producer selling food as organic when it has not been certified as such? What advice does the Minister give to the grower who has gone to significant trouble and expense to ensure his or her produce is certified organic? When will the statutory instrument be introduced? It should not be tied into any court action. It is long overdue.
The non-livestock sector came into effect in 1991-92 and it was only in 2000 that this was extended to the livestock sector. It was the livestock sector that was being complained about in the publication to which the Deputy referred. There are three different bodies involved. If there were unanimity or consensus across the three bodies, it would make life much easier for the Department because the statutory instrument is ready, but the three organic bodies are not. A High Court action was taken and the Attorney General's advice to my predecessors and me was that it would be inappropriate to introduce legislation while the action was under way.
I ask the Minister to take into account other member states which have managed very well with several certification bodies. Germany had at one point, and perhaps still has, about eight. It does not seem to confuse the Germans, and I am not sure why it should confuse the Irish Government. It is a directive. Will the Minister speed up the implementation of the statutory instrument so that there is clear protection for organic producers against people who are effectively trying to profit by ignoring the rules? We have had many examples in this country of the rules being ignored, in BSE, foot and mouth disease, beef tribunal evidence and so on. Will the Minister end the temptation for people to ignore the rules on organic certification and undermine the sector? I understand that he is distinguishing between livestock and non-livestock farming. However, the directive has been there since 1991 for non-livestock farming. Does the Minister not think it is high time that it was put into effect? If the statutory instrument is ready, when will that happen?
I remind the Deputy once more that it was not I who took the High Court action for judicial review—
That has nothing to do with it.
—it was one of the organic bodies. The Director of Consumer Affairs has statutory powers to safeguard the rights of the consumer. Legislation already exists empowering the director, and he can prosecute those who mislabel goods or wrongly represent them in a fraudulent manner.
I am talking about the producer.
As soon as the three bodies concerned reach a consensus, the Department has statutory instruments ready.
112 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the role his Department has in food labelling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25675/03]
Food labelling is a complicated and broadly based area to which we have devoted considerable attention. Our primary aim in doing so is to protect consumer interests and ensure that the consumer is properly informed. We were concerned in particular at the difficulty caused for consumers by the multiplicity of Departments and agencies involved in consumer information on labelling and especially in the enforcement of the regulations. As a result, and following a recommendation that we received from the consumer liaison panel, we set up the food labelling group in July 2002 to examine issues of concern to consumers on labelling.
In December 2002, the labelling group presented its report to us. It contained 21 recommendations covering general labelling rules, policy and enforcement, consumer education and awareness, and origin. We accepted the recommendations of the group. As the recommendations covered issues within the responsibility of several Departments and agencies, we set up an interdepartmental and interagency group to make progress on implementation of the recommendations. I am pleased to say that considerable progress has been achieved in implementing the report, especially on the two main issues emanating from it, the centralisation of enforcement of food labelling regulations in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, and the definition of origin of meat.
On the centralisation of enforcement, responsibility for general food labelling legislation was transferred from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment to the Department of Health and Children in June 2003, with the enforcement of those regulations coming within the remit of the FSAI. Responsibility for the enforcement of our Department's beef labelling regulations was transferred to the FSAI last January and responsibility for other labelling regulations will be formally transferred shortly. On the definition of origin of meat, there was full agreement in the food labelling group that consumers should have a right to information on the origin of the meat they cook in their homes or eat outside it. While the group could not agree on how origin should be defined, there was unanimous agreement that further research was necessary to establish consumers' wishes in the area. At our request, the consumer liaison panel drew up a strategy for that research, which it has commissioned. At this stage, the research is almost completed and we expect that the consumer panel will report to us on the results before the end of this year.
I will briefly outline progress on other recommendations of the food labelling group. The food labelling group recognised the concerns of consumers that there needed to be clearer information on labels on allergens. An EU regulation on allergen labelling on food was adopted by the European Council and Parliament in September 2003.
Additional Information.Two proposals are being worked on at EU level relating to nutritional health and functional claims and nutritional labelling. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been asked to incorporate a module on food safety, labelling and consumer issues into the primary and secondary school curricula. The group's recommendation on informing the consumer of the price per weight unit was addressed in legislation brought in by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, in March 2003.
The labelling group emphasised the responsibility of the food sector to produce safe food and to provide on all food and drink labels information that is clear, accurate and easy to read. In July 2003, we launched an industry guide for clear labelling for food and drinks which was prepared by Food and Drink Industry Ireland. Significant progress has therefore been made and we intend to pursue the matter to ensure that deficiencies in food labelling are addressed.
On that report, which was published in December 2002, perhaps the Minister will tell me how many of the 21 recommendations have been implemented. He mentioned enforcement. Does the Food Safety Authority of Ireland have to monitor and enforce labelling? Does it take a proactive stand? The fact that a few months ago one of the farm organisations carried out testing on beef and proved conclusively that the product being presented to the consumer was misrepresented left much to be desired. Nothing was, or can be, done about that. Has the Food Safety Authority of Ireland itself carried out any testing since then and, if so, do we have an indication of what the result might be? Does the Minister liaise with that group?
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is very proactive. They are eminent and highly professional people, with excellent staff across the country. The first main recommendation of the report related to the fact that there was a great deal of confusion regarding the regulatory authorities and the implementation of the various measures that they were going to take. It recommended that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland should be the body on which we should place most of the responsibility for enforcement. Agreement was reached on that and, as I said, responsibility was transferred from my Department to the FSAI earlier this year. Various other agencies and Departments are in the process of transferring responsibility to it. Obviously, in the report itself, there was no full and clear recommendation on the definition of the origin of a product. According to the report, it was necessary that we carry out research on that. That research is proceeding apace. We hope to receive a report on it before the end of the year, and we will certainly act on it as soon as we do so.
If the Minister does not have the figure to hand, I will be quite happy to accept it in writing. How many of the 21 recommendations have been implemented? The consumer liaison panel states that it is not sure what the consumer wants on the labelling of origin. Surely people are entitled to know where something came from? It is very simple, and I am not sure if one needs to carry out research on that aspect. We are all aware of the ongoing milk price war. Does the Minister have any concerns at the labelling of milk in supermarkets? Many people going into supermarkets are perhaps driven by price more than labelling, and that is undesirable. Does the Minister agree that if this price war continues, it may have a negative, knock-on impact for farmers and farm incomes in the dairy industry?
Several of the recommendations contained in the report have been implemented. I cannot tell the Deputy the exact number off the top of my head, but I can certainly get the information to him. On milk and other food products, the research clearly shows that consumers want quality and safety in what they purchase. Price comes into the equation after that and origin is not a major criterion that consumers use to make a decision on what they purchase, though obviously a small number of consumers will take that into account. In marketing, there are many people who believe that origin could distort the market from an Irish point of view as we export 90% of all the food products that we produce in this country. We have been very successful in international markets and we must take cognisance of the record, our success, and the capacity to expand the food industry on this island for the benefit of our people. Taking all that into account, we await the report, and we will act positively on it thereafter.
