Mislabelling a major issue of concern

THE news that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is to carry out a countrywide audit of food premises between now and Christmas is a welcome development.

It aims to ensure that foreign beef, poultry and fish products are not being mislabelled and sold as Irish, an issue that has raised concerns among farmers and consumers.

Another audit carried out in August and September by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) found that beef samples taken from various outlets were labelled as Irish but turned out to be of South American origin when genetically tested.