The Irish food safety authorities have ordered a blanket ban on the sale of all Irish-produced pork products, a measure supported by Britain’s Food Standards Agency. Pork, ham, bacon, sausages and other processed foods from Ireland are at the centre of a major food safety recall linked to cancer-causing dioxin contamination at up to 200 times legal limits.
The FSA is advising consumers not to eat pork, or products where pork is the main ingredient, that are labelled as being from the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland. However, there is no legal duty to recall any product which, in itself, is quite amazing considering the potential health issues.
The big problem is, it is impossible for the consumer to identify the origin of the food they purchase. Current legislation means the label on a product relates to the last place of processing, so pork could be imported from Ireland (or any other country) and processed into ‘British bangers’ in this country, thereby showing a UK label. Conversley, pork from the UK could be exported and processed in Ireland and will therefore have an Irish label.
Many supermarkets are recalling pork and processed pork products, but Tesco is refusing to do so. It says it can guarantee 100% that it knows where their ham comes from and can guarantee, 100 per cent, that it does not come from farms linked to the dioxin contamination.
We have long complained at the inadequacies of labelling laws in the UK. Rarely do we, as consumers, know exactly what is in the products we buy – whether pork sausages or personal care products. And we do not truly know the origin of its contents. It is time this problem was addressed and the consumer was more protected.