Walsh announces new labelling provisions for poultrymeat

The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Joe Walsh TD, today announced that he has implemented new legislation to provide for more information to be made available at the point of sale to consumers of poultrymeat. The new measures are effective immediately.

The Minister said the new legislation will require unprocessed poultrymeat that is sold loose (i.e. without pre-packaging) and which has been imported from outside the European Union to bear an indication of its country of origin. This is already a requirement for pre-packaged poultry.

This initiative follows on from the recommendations of the Food Labelling Group and the recent survey commissioned by the Minister into consumer preferences in regard to origin labelling. The Minister said that consumers had the right to the maximum amount of information about the food products being offered to them for sale so they can make informed choices about their purchases. There are already extensive legal requirements in place in relation to the labelling of poultry meat and the extension of these to the fresh non pre-packed product is line with this policy.

29 January 2004

Date Released: 29 January 2004