IF FOOD PRODUCERS and processors, rather than the taxpayer, had to bear the €180 million cost of bailing out the pork industry because of the recent dioxin scare, their representatives would be unlikely to argue against better regulation. But that is what happened at an Oireachtas inquiry last week when an industry representative joined with the IFA in opposing stringent controls. It suggested that important lessons have not been learned by those directly involved.
Quality and safety issues are of enormous importance to this State because of the sheer volume of our food exports. We have to guarantee the highest possible standards if we are to secure premium prices and that, of necessity, involves inspections at all junctions in the food chain, along with tighter controls on inputs. For those involved in the pork industry, advocating self-regulation and a minimum of official interference ignores the damage that has been caused to exports and the need to reassure consumers. Inadequate controls and corner-cutting landed us in trouble in the first place.
The contamination of pork products was described as a spectacular own goal by food expert Prof Patrick Wall. He felt it would take years for Ireland’s reputation to recover. It was clear from other evidence that a fragmentation of responsibility between the Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety Authority, involving farm inputs and outputs, must end if seamless and effective controls are to apply. The next food threat could involve microbes and, because of that, there is need for the establishment of a pathogens database to facilitate the investigation of any outbreak. In such circumstances, a proposal to amalgamate the Food Safety Authority with the Irish Medicines Board and the Office of Tobacco Control should be reviewed.
Evidence given by Ned O’Keeffe, a former minister and extensive pig farmer, was deeply disturbing. He alleged that manufacturers changed labels and product during the dioxin scare. He insisted the traceability system for pork was useless because, once the pig left the factory, the meat products could not be tracked. And he was critical of the way the processing industry was managed and, in particular, its use of imported meat.
Whatever about allegations of illegal practices by processors – which should be immediately investigated – it is clear that the current regulatory and monitoring system is inadequate. All inputs into the Irish food chain should be rigidly checked. And, for pork in particular, an effective traceability system must be introduced.