Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
472. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps taken to maintain farm-to-fork standards when Brazilian-sourced products are involved in Irish processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13676/26]
View answer'Farm-to-fork' standards relate to the the requirement to maintain traceability at all stages of the food chain which is set down in EU legislation in Article 18 of Regulation 178/2002. Traceability of food, feed, food-producing animals, and any other substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed must be established at all stages of production, processing and distribution. Food business operators are expected to be able to identify their suppliers and customers (i.e. one step forward and one step back) with some exceptions (e.g. restaurants and mass caterers are not expected to maintain data on their customers) and this data must be made available to the competent authority on request.
For third country imports (e.g. from Brazil) of meat or meat products, these consignments are subject to official controls in the first instance at our border control posts, where documentary checks assessing veterinary health certification and attestations made regarding the imported product are checked by my Department before the arrival of the consignment into the Union followed by identification checks of the consignment on arrival during which the labelling of the product is checked against the documentation provided. Both of these checks are performed on all third country meat consignments (i.e. at 100% frequency). If the consignment passes these checks, as well as any physical checks, to which it may be subjected, the consignment is deemed to have reached an equivalent standard as that required of EU products. In that case, the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) that accompanies the consignment detailing where it originated, where it is destined for and all details relevant to the type, weight, storage and transportation of the product, is validated and the consignment is free to move within the Union.
All food business operators in Ireland, if in receipt of food products into their business, must have an Intake Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place detailing how the traceability of the product, provided by their suppliers, is checked by them on arrival. This requirement for food business operators, which is regularly checked by my Department in the course of audits and other inspections, is consistent regardless of the country of origin of the product received and is central to the food business operators' discharge of their responsibilities under Article 18 of Regulation 178/2002.
