Concern was expressed last night by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland over reports that some French companies have been using sewage as an ingredient in feed given to poultry and pigs.
The authority said it was not telling consumers, at this stage, to avoid French chicken and pork products, but was awaiting the outcome of an investigation by the EU Commission.
It was "concerned" that products derived from animals which received the feed might have been exported to Ireland.
A spokesman said: "We will proceed on the basis of what the EU Commission informs about this practice, if it took place and if the results ended up in the food chain." He added that the amount of French poultry and pork products coming into the Republic would also have to be considered.
He said if French companies were putting sewage into animal feed it was "not acceptable and is illegal". He admitted if sewage had been used there could be risk to consumers from the bacteria and antibiotics which would have been consumed by the animals.
EU food safety inspectors are reported to be travelling to France to investigate the reports, first aired on German television.
In a letter to the European Commission, the French government said its intervention had stopped the "malfunctioning" that caused the contamination, said EU spokes man Mr Thierry Daman. A Department of Agriculture spokesman said "minimal amounts" of French poultry and pork were imported.
Two of the State's largest retailers - Tesco Ireland and Superquinn - said none of their fresh meat was from France, but said it was possible packaged consumer meals they stocked might have French ingredients.
Both companies said they had no intention of withdrawing French products, but said they would keep in close contact with the Food Safety Authority.
Germany's ARD television alleged that French companies in western and central France were mixing sludge from waste water plants and septic tanks into meat and bone meal. According to the reports some of the sludge would have contained human faeces.
The feeding of infected meat and bone meal to animals in Britain is understood to have triggered the development of BSE or "mad cow" disease. The Department of Agriculture emphasised yesterday that Irish farmers did not feed such meat and bone meal to their animals.