Bord Bia has demanded the immediate withdrawal of a batch of beef carrying what it called an “erroneous” label from shop shelves.
It has also ordered a full investigation and an on-the-spot audit.
The label is on a pack of diced beef, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, which was sold in a Centra shop in Co Limerick, on Sunday to farmer Sean O'Connell.
It carried a label with both “Slaughtered in Ireland” and “Slaughtered in United Kingdom” on it.
The label also carried the Bord Bia Origin Ireland logo.
Under Bord Bia rules, beef from animals slaughtered in the UK cannot carry the Origin Ireland label. Only beef from animals slaughtered in the Republic of Ireland can carry the Origin Ireland label.
The slaughtering and cutting plant is listed as 9023, which refers to Linden Foods, Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
Linden Foods is jointly owned by ABP Food Group, which includes Slaney Foods, Irish Country Meats, Kettyle Irish Foods and Lonhienne.
Labelling error
When contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal about the labelling discrepancy, Bord Bia said it was told it was a “printing error” by the processing plant.
A spokesperson for Bord Bia said: “Bord Bia was made aware of a Centra label on Fresh Irish Beef carrying the Bord Bia Origin Ireland logo which stated in printed type the words ‘Slaughtered in United Kingdom’. The label also stated ‘Slaughtered in Ireland’.”
“Bord Bia contacted the processing plant in question immediately to ascertain the situation and was informed by the plant representative that the beef was 100% Irish beef, meeting the requirements of born, reared and slaughtered in the Republic of Ireland and that a printing error had occurred for a short period during the labelling process which resulted in the incorrect label,” the Bord Bia spokesperson said.
Investigation
“Bord Bia demanded that all product carrying the erroneous label must immediately be removed from the shelves and an investigation into how this error occurred including a Bord Bia Quality Assurance spot audit was initiated today,” she added.
“Bord Bia takes matters relating to mislabelling extremely seriously and will follow up with due diligence to ensure that all rules regarding the use of the logo are adhered to.”
Centra
A spokesman for Centra told the Irish Farmers Journal that its Centra Lean Diced Beef 410g Use by date 18 September 2019 was produced from 100% quality assured Irish beef, slaughtered in the Republic of Ireland in a Bord Bord Quality Assured processing facility.
“This product was temporarily being packed in an approved factory in Northern Ireland.
An immediate investigation has highlighted that during a short period of production, 336 packs had been inadvertently packed with incorrect beef labelling information due to human error. Corrective action has been put in place with immediate effect. This product has been removed from sale,” the spokesperson said.
He added that Centra beef is 100% Irish born, reared and slaughtered in Ireland and Bord Bia approved.
“It is temporarily packaged by Linden Foods, Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Centra was made aware by the processor that part of a batch of diced beef was incorrectly labelled 'Slaughtered in United Kingdom' instead of Slaughtered in 'Republic of Ireland' due to a printing error. All product carrying the erroneous label are removed from the shelves,” the spokesman added.
Linden Foods
The Irish Farmers Journal has contacted Linden Foods for comment on the matter.