French pledge no sewage is now mixed with animal feed

French authorities have said they can guarantee that no sewage is now mixed with feed for poultry and pigs, following reports that some French processing plants used untreated sewage in the preparation of animal feed.

The French embassy in Ireland said yesterday the "dysfunction" in some companies, where they mixed sewage sludge with raw material intended for the manufacture of animal feed, had ceased.

Mr Francois Pugeaut, First Secretary at the embassy, said: "We can guarantee that no sewage is used for animal meal production in any French plants treating animal waste."

The EU Commission is to investigate the incidents, but a Fine Gael TD, Mr Michael Finucane, called on the Government to consider a ban on all French chicken and pork imports until the Commission's inquiry is completed.

Mr Finucane, from Limerick West, said the Departments of Health and Agriculture should carry out an immediate investigation into which Irish companies and organisations had chicken contracts with France. He expressed concern about the awarding of a £100,000 contract for chicken products by a health board, for hospitals in its region, to an Irish company which sourced its product in France.

"Ireland has probably the most rigid food safety controls in the EU," he said. "It puts a premium price on Irish chicken but in the long term that contributes to better food safety and integrity." The Irish authorities should be just as rigid about the quality of imported food. "If we have such high standards are we happy that producers in other countries comply with the same high standards?" he asked.

Mr Pugeaut said media reports of the use of sewage sludge were based on an inspection report from the French services de controle that in some French centres of animal feed production sewage sludge was incorporated into raw materials. The authorities made the discovery in checks late last year and early this year. The Ministry of Agriculture carried out further tests in April this year and confirmed that sewage was no longer being used and all regulations were complied with.