Govt urged to change food-labelling laws

Supermarkets are passing off imported meat and vegetables as Irish goods because of loopholes in the law, it was claimed today.

Fine Gael said Brazilian beef or New Zealand lamb can be repackaged as home produce if it is reprocessed here.

Agriculture & Food spokesman Denis Naughten said: “Most consumers want to purchase Irish food but due to blatant loopholes in the food labelling laws, they are buying food which originated on the other side of the world, but is being labelled as Irish.

“The Irish consumer’s right to know where their food comes from is being denied by the Government's failure to insist on the transparent labelling of food.”

The Athlone TD claimed that beef from Brazil, New Zealand lamb, pork from the USA and Israel are being passed off as Irish.

He called on the Government to change the labelling laws to make this practice illegal.

“Under current law, food from these countries which is reprocessed in Ireland can be labelled as Irish,” he continued.

“This reprocessing could be as simple as cutting a side of beef into T-bone steaks. This is misleading Irish consumers who are not being given a transparent choice of choosing Irish over imported foods.”

The TD said abuse of the system has gone on long enough and the Government can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the practice.

“The Irish public deserves better,” he added.