Ireland: Pork labelling under scrutiny, changes wanted
DNA testing of Irish pork revealed that a big amount of non-Irish pork is labelled as Irish, this has resulted in The Irish Farmers’Association (IFA) to push for mandatory labelling of pork products with the Country of Origin.
According to the IFA no laws, as retailers are permitted to label non-Irish products as ‘Produced in Ireland’ if they have processed it further, but has stated that customers have a right to know if it is in fact Irish.
Two labels
It was discovered that Lidl’s Glensallagh bacon joint labelled as ‘Produced in Ireland’ was not Irish pork. The supermarket said its Glensallgh range of products carry one of two logos – ‘Produce of Ireland’ and ‘Produced in Ireland’. IFA says that, pork marked ‘Produce of Ireland’ is 100% Irish while products with the ‘Produced in Ireland’ logo are made by Irish suppliers but do not contain 100% Irish pork.
The Food Safety Authority stated that pig meat products do not have to show the Country of Origin on the label, unless the lack of this information could deceive consumers.
Source: RTE.ie
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