The Clare T.D. said that there was a clear desire among Irish consumers that country of origin labelling be introduced.

“The Department of Agriculture is cogently aware of the problem of misleading and deficient labelling. In relation to a new wide-ranging proposal from the European Commission to consolidate and upgrade the whole area of food labelling legislation, the Department would prefer to see an unequivocal provision in the new legislation requiring the country of origin to be indicated on food”, he added.

Minister Killeen stated that he was particularly anxious to ensure that consumers were not misled as to the origin of the product and to address shortcomings in existing legislation to prevent misleading origin indications.

Minister Killeen noted that the annual farmgate value of the Irish poultry industry is approximately EUR150 million and that the predominant outlet for Irish chicken is the Irish retail market.

"I would urge retailers, food outlets and consumers in County Clare and across the country to support the Irish industry and Irish products and particularly to purchase poultry produced under the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister Killeen welcomed his colleague Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith’s intention to reconvene the Poultry Expert Group, which had been established to review the important issues facing the sector and to identify what steps could be taken to ensure the successful future of the industry.

“It is timely to call the Expert Group together again to review its recommendations in the light of current developments and to consider what further issues warrant consideration. I believe that the reconvened Expert Group can play a very useful role in assisting this valuable sector, which employs almost 6,000 people and has a combined farmgate value of approximately EUR150 million annually", Minister Killeen concluded.

Further Reading

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