Tesco

It was not accurate to say it had a policy of not buying fresh Irish beef. It blamed seasonal factors for the current lack of Irish beef on its shelves. "Since the export ban Britain has been self-sufficient in terms of beef," said a spokesman. He could not say when Irish beef would be stocked again. "We are in a unique position."

Marks And Spencer

"We don't sell any Irish meat except a small percentage of chicken, as our major supply base is here in Britain," said a spokeswoman. She said it had always been its policy to stock British beef for reasons of cost.

Sainsbury

Sainsbury was the only supermarket chain which still sold Irish beef. "Ten per cent of the beef we sell is sourced in Ireland. With BSE there has been a move to label beef as to country of origin so that our customers have the choice," said a spokeswoman.

ASDA

"We don't stock any fresh Irish beef and we haven't for the past 22 months," said a spokesman. Asda was the first multiple to remove Irish beef from its shelves when the BSE crisis hit. "We wanted to show our support for the British beef industry from the outset," he said.

Safeway

According to a spokesman for Safeway, the decision to stock British beef only was by public demand. "Our decision was informed by the consumers' response to the Buy British Campaign." How long will this be the case? "As long the customer wants it, so indefinitely really."

In the cases where supermarkets had outlets in the North or in the Republic, they said that only Irish beef was stocked.