The Connemara fish-farming company at the centre of allegations of illegal dumping has been temporarily suspended from a State quality food mark scheme. Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent, reports.
Mr Johnny O'Carroll of Tairgeoirí Biamara Atlantach (TBA) Teó, who is a board member of the Marine Institute, received notification yesterday from IFQC Ltd, the company which audits and monitors the Irish Quality Salmon Scheme or "Q" mark.
The certification has international recognition through the ISO 65 award for quality assurance and is the benchmark for sales to premium food markets.
Mr O'Carroll is currently under investigation by Galway County Council over alleged illegal dumping of salmon in a bog in Casla, Connemara, during the summer.
Galway County Council said it was still monitoring the two sites at Doire an Fheich, Casla, and was working with Mr O'Carroll and the Environmental Protection Agency on safe disposal of the fish, which will not decompose in a bog.
The local authority has stressed that there is no threat to public health.
Mr Peter Marshall, managing director of IFQC which approves the "Q" mark, said TBA Teo had been suspended temporarily as a precaution. This was to protect the integrity of the food mark, and to allow the company to submit evidence to IFQC to show it conformed with standards.
A certification committee meeting next Monday is expected to discuss the issue. If TBA Teo cannot satisfy the IFQC, it may be expelled from the scheme.
Some 90 per cent of aquaculture companies have applied for certification under the scheme, which is voluntary but rigorous, and about 90 per cent of these applications have been approved.
The scheme is supported and has been developed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Consumer Association of Ireland.
A spokesman for Mr O'Carroll said yesterday that TBA Teo had received the notification and had no further comment.
Galway County Council has already asked all fish farmers in Connemara to supply it with written details of waste-disposal systems. The Irish Salmon Growers' Association is also seeking written assurances from its members about compliance with EU and national regulations.