farming

Country of Origin Labelling is Hoodwinking Consumers - IFA

Addressing a national pig farmers meeting in Portlaoise this evening, IFA President John Bryan said the delay in introducing country-of-origin labelling was undermining local producers and deliberately misleading consumers.

Mr Bryan said, “retailers are exploiting the lack of regulation in this area to sell products that do not match the standards met by local producers. Consumers who want to support Irish producers are being hoodwinked into believing they are buying local produce.”

The IFA President said the issue of substantial transformation has been raised time and again, with promises to close off the loophole, which is a blatant abuse of the existing system. “Secondary processors are equally guilty of trading on the excellent reputation of Irish meat by passing off imports as locally produced. This practice is threatening jobs in this country and has to stop.”

Mr Bryan said, “The Department of Agriculture must look at the model that has been introduced in the UK, and the moves by the European Commission to overhaul labelling laws before the end of the year. The Department must ensure the new regulation is effectively implemented. It must provide clear and unambiguous labelling for consumers that removes all anomalies.”

Concluding, John Bryan said the support from the Consumers Association for the IFA position on misleading labelling is long overdue, and the Government must move to act immediately.