Dawn Farm Foods was listed as QA on Bord Bia website when it was not QA

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has accused Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin of failing to follow his own plea to farmers to throw their full weight behind Bord Bia’s quality assurance (QA) schemes when his own company Dawn Farm Foods does not do the same.

Murrin stated in 2024 that the more engagement with Bord Bia’s schemes there was along the agri-food supply chain, the “better it will be for Ireland inc”.

Speaking before the Oireachtas agriculture committee on Wednesday, IFA president Francie Gorman drew attention to the Bord Bia chair’s company not currently being a member of the relevant Bord Bia QA scheme for the sector it operates in - the food processor standard.

“Many of Mr Murrin’s competitors, similar to Dawn Farm Foods, operate on a business-to-business basis [and] are certified members of the food processor standard,” the committee heard.

“In our view, it is extraordinary that the chair of Bord Bia’s company is not a member of the relevant Bord Bia quality assurance scheme.

“The appropriate Bord Bia quality assurance standard that would now apply to Dawn Farm Foods is the food processor standard.

“According to Bord Bia’s website, there are over 500 food and agribusinesses who are members of this or similar schemes in Ireland. Dawn Farm Foods is not one of them.”

Website woes

Furthermore, the IFA chief suggested that a Bord Bia-controlled website that lists Irish food businesses had until recently listed Dawn Farm Foods under the defunct Bord Bia meat quality assurance scheme.

“The Irish Food and Drink website which is curated by Bord Bia stated that Dawn Farm Foods was accredited under the Bord Bia meat quality assurance scheme,” Gorman continued.

“When we queried this, it turned out that Dawn Farm Foods is not part of that scheme. The website has since been amended by Bord Bia.”

A Bord Bia spokesperson subsequently confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that Dawn Farm Foods had withdrawn from the meat quality assurance scheme over 10 years ago.

“The logo use was not relevant to their business-to-business operation,” the spokesperson said.

What’s best for Ireland inc

When appearing before the Oireachtas committee on agriculture on his appointment as chair-designate of Bord Bia in 2024, Murrin had urged “all stakeholders who are not already engaging, especially farmers, to engage as actively and proactively as they can with Bord Bia”.

“Ultimately, however, all stakeholders have to be on the bus and we need the maximum number of people engaged,” Murrin responded to a follow-up question on his call for farmer engagement with Bord Bia.

“I have spent my life in the food and agri sector and am very passionate about it, so I would have an ear for what farmers want to say and their natural fears, but I would encourage engagement with all the Bord Bia stakeholders to make further progress.

“The further down the supply chain Bord Bia can go, the better it will be for Ireland inc. That, to me, is logical.”