Over-regulation ‘suffocating’ food production sector

THE SPONTANEITY and inventiveness of the Irish food production sector is in danger of being “suffocated” by over-regulation, a Cork restaurateur has warned.

However more regulations are in the pipeline, according to experts.

Speaking in advance of a two-day international conference on food law that begins in Cork next week, Judy Howard of the city’s Market Lane restaurant said food production in Ireland, particularly for small artisan producers, was so over-regulated that the set-up costs of a new business were prohibitively high.