Minister defends our beef

IRISH beef has joined Brazilian product on a list of inferior quality imports compiled by the National Beef Association, the only specialist representative body for beef producers in the UK.

But British retailers and consumers have been assured by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan that Irish beef is a grass-based product, processed to the highest standards.

NBA chairman Duff Burrell said recent revelations about lower production standards in Brazil highlighted the gap between standards that satisfy importers and those required of UK produced beef.