Taxpayer faces payout over non-Irish meat
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THE Irish taxpayer will end up paying compensation for non-Irish pork in the recall because it is impossible to tell where pigmeat comes from once it leaves the factory.
The current traceability system for pork is not working, and this resulted in a 100pc recall of all pork processed in Ireland last December even though only 10pc of it had been contaminated with dioxins, an Oireachtas Committee report into the crisis found.
The total cost to the taxpayer will be between €180m and €200m and it is likely that a substantial proportion of this will be paid to processors for non-Irish pork, committee members said.
That is because although pigs are traceable back to the farm where they come from, once they are slaughtered and the meat is moved on to shops or for further processing, it becomes impossible to tell where it originated, meaning that a targeted recall cannot be carried out.
The report called for an improved traceability system as a priority, noting that while it would be difficult and costly to have as good a system as for beef, other countries such as Denmark had a system that could trace pork back to the exact batch.
Fine Gael farm spokesman Michael Creed said that it was crucial to maintain confidence in the food chain. "I suspect the findings regarding traceability will meet resistance from processors. However, having endured a 100pc recall for a 10pc contamination, real and effective traceability is urgently needed," he said.
The report found that Irish pork exports were worth €368m in 2007, and the total value of output came to €750m, with 7,000 employed in the sector.
- Aideen Sheehan
