IBEC GROUP:ALL IRISH pork products produced from pigs slaughtered in the State have been withdrawn from shops and supermarkets, Retail Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the Irish retail sector, confirmed last night.
Retail Ireland director Torlach Denihan said the group was “fully compliant with the pigmeat recall notice issues by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)”.
Mr Denihan said there was currently no figure for the amount of produce recalled or its value but it was “many, many millions of euro”.
The group had a meeting yesterday with Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith and Mr Denihan said afterwards: “It’s very much in the hands of the FSAI and the Minister” how quickly Irish pork is back for sale in retail outlets.
If it was done quickly it would limit the impact from the controversy.
It should “very quickly be possible for the department to determine the criteria” to ensure new product was “fit for human consumption”.
It should only be “a matter of days” to ensure pigs slaughtered before September 1st, and about to be slaughtered, could be determined not to have been contaminated, he said.
Non-Irish pork was still for sale but “Irish consumers want nothing more than to tuck into Irish pork”.
Mr Denihan said the pre-Christmas sales period was a “critical time” for retailers.
Figures up to September showed sales were down 3 per cent compared to last year and it had worsened since then. This was going to hurt more companies, said Mr Denihan.
Retail Ireland is the representative body for the entire retail sector in Ireland and is affiliated to Ibec. Its membership includes department stores, major supermarket groups, symbol groups and specialist retailers.
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