Telling porkies - Food labelled incorrectly

FOOD labelling is a fraught issue and one where the interests of consumers are not served as well as they might be. 

Too often producers are vague and disguise the real contents of a product by giving values — for fat or sugar say — for portions that are just a fraction of the food item on offer.

Yesterday the Irish Farmers’ Association raised another problem with food labelling. The farm organisation pointed out that almost one-third of pigmeat presented as being Irish in butcher shops or supermarkets was found not to be so after DNA testing. Basically, retailers or wholesalers are lying to customers in an effort to get them to buy foreign produce masqueraded as Irish. Not only were consumers being misled on the food they were buying but those who wished to buy Irish were deceived too.

It is unhelpful that the IFA chose not to name the retailers involved, especially the supermarkets, but any consumer in a position to support Irish producers should do so because, as we must all know by now, we all depend on each other’s spending habits to rebuild our economy.