Some chicken fillets imported into the State have been found to contain cattle and pig proteins. An investigation by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) uncovered the animal DNA in 17 out of 30 sample fillets imported from the Netherlands.
The investigation also found the fillets were being "bulked up" with water to make them look bigger. Some contained just 55 per cent meat.
The chief executive of the FSAI, Dr Patrick Wall, said yesterday he was shocked at the findings. The chickens would probably have originated in Thailand or Brazil and were injected with water at eight known processing plants in the Netherlands. "To bulk up the chicken they inject a lot of water. To inject so much water they add additional proteins to hold the water," he explained.
The cattle or bovine protein normally added was casein, a derivative of milk, and it was legal to do this, and to add water, as long as it was detailed on the product label. "That does not mean it's acceptable to the public. There are deficiencies in the labelling regulations. Consumers' interests need to be addressed at EU level," Dr Wall said.
The 30 samples examined, however, were not properly labelled. Seven contained DNA of cattle origin, a further seven contained DNA of pig origin and three were positive for both cattle and pig proteins.
This was not labelled. Some 23 per cent of labels did not disclose meat content while 54 per cent stated a higher meat content than was present.
The FSAI has contacted EU and Dutch authorities about its findings.
The fillets under investigation were used mainly in the catering trade, with a small proportion being sold through butcher shops. An estimated 140 tonnes of the fillets would have been imported since January but 40 tonnes have been quarantined since the FSAI investigation began.
The investigation followed concerns raised by the UK Food Standards Agency about the water content of the chicken fillets. The Irish investigation then found animal proteins were also present.
Dr Wall said wholesalers would have bought the chicken as frozen fillets and would have been unaware of their content. However, it was likely the fillets were imported because they were "coming cheap", he said.
He stressed that consumers should not desist from eating chicken as the products represented only a small proportion of the total chicken on the market in Ireland.
However, the inclusion of undeclared pork and bovine material in chicken breasts raised ethical and moral issues, he said.
"While there are no major risks to human health from the inclusion of pork in chicken, there will be real concern among religious groups and others who abstain from eating pigmeat about the presence of pig DNA in chicken. In our view, this practice is totally unacceptable," he said.
Ireland's EU Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, said the incorrect labelling of the fillets was reprehensible. He directed his department, which has responsibility for health and consumer protection, to take up the matter with food experts from EU member states who were meeting in Brussels yesterday.
"I want urgent information about the scale of such deceptive practices so that I can consider if further action at EU level is required," he said.
The Irish Poultry Processors' Association welcomed the findings and urged consumers to buy Irish poultry.