The director of the Food Safety Association of Ireland, Peter Whelan, said the meat discovered during raids on two illegal abattoirs in Co Cavan on Thursday "was destined for the commercial market".
Officials from the Department of Agriculture, the FSA, Cavan County Council and the HSE carried out the joint raids, in Ballyconnell and Belturbet, after a prolonged investigation into the illegal practice and closed down the abattoirs.
Mr Whelan said the raids resulted from routine inspections of the regulations covering the sector and revealed the regulations were clearly breached. "In order to slaughter animals you must have approval from the local authority veterinary officers and these two slaughterhouses had not applied for approval and are not approved plants."
Speaking about where the illegal meat may have ended up, Mr Whelan said, "Once the meat is slaughtered it becomes available to the food trade, so it would be going out to anyone who will be prepared to buy it."
The abattoirs' owners, both related and from Cavan, are known to inspectors but whether they will be prosecuted will depend on if they try to reopen the illegal plants.