IFA: Ireland needs tougher laws on food labelling
The Irish Farmers Association is calling for tougher legislation in relation to the labelling of meat.
It comes following the discovery that a meat processing plant in Co. Tipperary was exporting horsemeat labelled as beef.
B&F Meats in Carrick-On-Suir was shut down last night and is now under investigation by gardaí and the Department of Agriculture after officials found the labels on meat which was being sent to a supplier in the Czech Republic.
The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney last night said he was seriously concerned about this latest development.
President of the IFA, John Bryan, who will travel to Brussels on Monday to push for compulsory labelling, said enforcement also needs to be tougher.
He said: "Legislation without proper enforcement is useless so what we need is stronger legislation here and then rigorous testing.
"The fact the EU has agreed to do over 4,000 samples between now and the end of April, the fact that the Minister for Agriculture has announced a new round of testing here, the fact that people were willing to mislabel the product and sell it to the consumer means we need a much tighter level of inspection."
