Food labelling by its nature encompasses a particularly broad spectrum and in these circumstances officials in my Department are in regular communication with officials in other Departments and agencies to ensure a balanced and co-ordinated approach to labelling issues both at national and international level.
Consumers should be in a position to make food consumption choices which best suit their circumstances and preferences and an appropriate labelling system is a key element to enable this informed choice. In this regard the Deputy may note that I have recently signed a statutory instrument to effect the transposition of EU Directive 2003/89/EC which will facilitate a real improvement in food labelling. The new regulation abolishes the 25% compound ingredient listing exemption and makes it compulsory to list all ingredients in a food with the exception of a small number of particular cases. In addition, from 25 November next it will be compulsory to list on the labelling specified allergens whenever they or ingredients originating from them are used in foods, including alcoholic drinks. This will ensure that consumers suffering from food allergies and intolerances or those who wish to avoid eating certain ingredients for any other reason can identify those ingredients they may need or wish to eliminate from their diet.
At European level the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on nutrition and health claims is nearing completion of First Reading. The proposal specifies conditions for the use of nutrition and health claims made on foods and aims to ensure consumers receive accurate and meaningful information while allowing food producers to use serious and scientifically substantiated claims as a marketing tool.
At national level discussions are ongoing between my Department and the Department of Agriculture and Food on the question of the introduction of national measures to require the country of origin to be displayed in respect of beef served in the restaurant and catering sector. We are considering the options available in terms of the legal mechanisms to give effect to such labelling. However, as it will be necessary to consult with the European Commission regarding the proposed measures, I am not in a position to give an indication as to when country of origin labelling will be introduced to this sector.