Organic offer not for Irish Iceland

British supermarket group Iceland's Irish customers will not receive the same benefits of organic produce promised to their UK counterparts.

Last week Iceland announced that it intends to switch all its own-brand frozen vegetable range to organic, beginning in October. . However, this all-organic policy will apply only to branches in Britain and Northern Ireland and not to the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Ron Metcalfe, Iceland area manager for the Republic's nine stores, said that approximately 5 per cent of the firm's frozen vegetable range here was organic.

He estimated that no more than 10 per cent of the range would be switched to organic in October, due to problems with the packaging of the produce.

Mr Simon Reeve, brand category manager with Iceland in the UK, said most of Iceland's organic produce would have imperial weight measurements on the packaging, whereas Irish grocery produce must be measured in kilograms.

Legally, he said, it was not permissible simply to change the packaging to read in ounces; Iceland would have to develop new sizes exclusively for Ireland.

This "wouldn't be economically viable, so in the short to medium term it's unlikely that we'd do that", he said.

Mr Reeve said Iceland is seeking ways to rectify the Irish situation. Sourcing organic products within Ireland could be a possible solution. The group, however, does not currently carry any Irish-grown organic produce, but "we're always looking for local sources".

Following last week's announcement from Iceland, Tesco Ireland and Superquinn have said they are committed to offering organic groceries to Irish consumers but neither plans to convert to organic-only vegetables.

Dunnes Stores also carries some organic produce but was unwilling to comment on the number of products stocked or their future intentions for organic lines.