Quality label covers Irish food only

IN your editorial headlined ‘Credibility cannot be put at risk’ (May 9), you quote Richard Corrigan, referring to Bord Bia, as stating that “the board’s quality assurance scheme does not ensure products are Irish”.

I wish to refute this claim. In particular, I wish to reassure consumers that all products covered by Bord Bia’s quality schemes are sourced in their entirety from within the island of Ireland and are indeed clearly labelled to this effect.

Furthermore, it is represented in the editorial that “Bord Bia is prevented by EU law from promoting exclusively Irish produce in the domestic market”.

This is also incorrect. Again, I wish to reassure consumers that Bord Bia does not promote products from any other origin.

Bord Bia’s role is to promote and develop markets for Irish food and horticulture. It is jointly funded by government, farmers and industry. Its quality assurance schemes are designed to meet the requirements of the most important supermarket and food service customers at home and overseas.

The schemes have widespread support from farmers, processors and customers and have been independently benchmarked and accredited against the best international standards.

They represent a fundamental element in the country’s overall food export performance of €8.2 billion, reaching out to 160 countries and supporting 160,000 Irish jobs.

Aidan Cotter

Chief Executive

Bord Bia

Lr Mount Street

Dublin 2