Govt to tighten country-of-origin rules for meat products
The Government has announced plans to make country-of-origin labelling compulsory on all meat products sold in pubs, restaurants and take-aways.
The Department of Agriculture said today that legislation paving the way for the move would be brought before the Oireachtas before the end of the year and should come into force by the end of 2006.
At present, meat sold in supermarkets and shops must have the country of origin included on the label, but restaurants and similar businesses are not subject to the same requirements.
Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has said she believes most restaurateurs will implement the new policy voluntarily before the legislation comes into effect.
Farmers organisation have been demanding country-of-origin labelling for some time and have accused some outlets of selling foreign beef as Irish produce.
