Retailers telling porkies to be named and shamed

Retailers who label imported pork products as Irish are to be named and shamed as part of a crackdown by agri-food groups.

The IFA and Bord Bia have enlisted DNA firm Identigen to test rashers, sausages, and cooked ham, to trace the genetic fingerprint of any suspected pork imports against a national “boar” database.

Ten experts have begun sampling products from supermarkets, butchers, and restaurants.

The groups want to protect a pigmeat industry, which is valued at €1bn and supports 10,000 jobs. While other food sectors export 80% of their output, Irish pork has a 50:50 Irish and overseas sales balance.

Calling the scheme a world’s first, IFA pigmeat chairman Tim Cullinan said: “The industry is in crisis and we need to protect the home market. There is a lot of product on Irish retail shelves claiming to be Irish, wrapped up in a picture of a cottage or a green field. The consumer has a right to know if this is Irish pork or not. This has been a problem for years.”

He urged consumers to only buy pork that carried a “Bord Bia quality assured” label.

Bord Bia said this programme will put an end to misleading labels. They also believe the unique traceability feature may also attract more overseas consumers to buy Irish pork products.

Identigen managing director Ciarán Meghan said: “This groundbreaking initiative will introduce a new standard of integrity to the Irish pigmeat sector, ensuring confidence in the origin of all pigmeat marketed as Irish.”

The IFA said it would publish the DNA test results on a regular basis.