Creed calls for a radical overhaul of current Irish food regulations

A RADICAL overhaul of the current food regulations is needed, according to Fine Gael agriculture and food spokesperson Michael Creed.

“At present there are five different sets of monitors for the food industry, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the Health and Safety Authority, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and local authorities.

“It is time for a radical overhaul of this maze of inspection and regulation which, I believe, puts additional cost on food business here and not sufficient emphasis on consumer protection from imports of questionable quality distributed through the retail and catering sector,” he said.

Mr Creed said the time has come to centralise the monitoring of food production, distribution, importation, retailing, and preparation.

Mr Creed said the agricultural industry, though poorly served politically, is committed in terms of delivering a quality product tailored to consumer needs and produced in harmony with the environment.

“However, both the industry and consumers are poorly served by our failure to have clear and focused labelling of products. Country of origin labelling and the closing of the ‘substantial transformation’ loophole obviously require EU approval.

“However, there is serious potential for reforming our current food regulations at home also, to prevent even more food companies going out of business,” he said.

Mr Creed said Fine Gael in government will create one single agency under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in order to ensure monitoring procedures are of the same high standards as those maintained by our food producers.

He said he is firmly convinced that agriculture and fisheries have a key role to play in the future development of the economy.

“As we enter a time when good quality products, based on high standards of safety and quality assurance are valued more than ever before, Ireland can continue to carve out a niche as a key player in the global agricultural market,” he said.