The Department of Agriculture and Food has confirmed that gardaí have now joined its investigation into the certification of beef at a mid-Leinster processing plant.
The investigation is focused on the certification of cow beef for the lucrative Russian market, which should only be supplied with top-quality steer beef.
Last year, the Russians purchased nearly €150 million worth of Irish beef and was our largest non-EU market.
The Department said there had been a reassignment of staff from the plant pending the outcome of the investigation. The investigators have been carrying out a check of the stores, bills of lading and invoices at the plant. They are trying to ascertain just how many cows rather than steers have been processed at the plant in recent months.
The fraud was uncovered following a routine check at the factory which, while not a major player in the Russian market, has a considerable niche in the trade.
Industry sources hoped the discovery would not disrupt the trade from Ireland.