FOOD SAFETY:THE FOOD Safety Authority of Ireland has said it hopes supermarket shelves will be re-stocked with Irish pork products later this week.
Deputy chief executive Alan Reilly said yesterday he was satisfied that the authority had taken the correct decision in recalling all pork products as a precautionary measure when test results confirmed high levels of contamination in some meats on Saturday.
Asked when Irish pork could be stocked by shops and restaurants, Mr Reilly said: "I hope this week. When we're satisfied that we have got everything off [the shelves] we can start letting product back on."
Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, said the agency was working to create a labelling system that would reassure consumers about Irish pork produced after December 7th.
"We have been working . . . on developing a tailored consumer information programme designed to identify the product that is coming back on the market, as well as an information campaign that is consistent with consumer needs and expectations," he said.
"Before we finalise this, we'll be listening to consumers over the next few days to ensure that the campaign does meet their concerns."
Mr Cotter also said he hoped Irish pork would be back on the supermarket shelves "some time later this week".
Amii Cahill of the Irish Farmers' Association said the typical cycle from farm to plate was six months, but modern processing techniques meant that once a carcass was received by a cutting plant, fresh pork could be back on the shelves "almost immediately". Cured products would take up to a week to bring to the shelf.
"The whole pig production cycle is very efficient. The pigs just have to move on - it's not like cattle where you can move them to another field for a few weeks and they'll be alright," Ms Cahill said. "They get too heavy and then they're not valuable any more."
There were reports yesterday of some retailers having already sourced imported pork to replace Irish stocks. Breeo Foods, which markets the pork brands Galtee, Shaws, Roscrea and Barcastle, said it had implemented an immediate plan to "temporarily move to source safe traceable pork meat from EU countries outside of Ireland" following the recall order.
This would mean it could continue supplying the Irish market with its brands using "safe, traceable continental pork meat" sourced mainly from suppliers in the UK, Germany and Denmark, according to a spokesman.
