Bord Bia ordered the immediate withdrawal of a batch of beef carrying what it called an “erroneous” label from shop shelves on Tuesday. It also ordered a full investigation and a spot audit.

A pack of Centra diced beef, bought in Limerick on Sunday by farmer Sean O’Connell carried a label with both “Slaughtered in Ireland” and “Slaughtered in United Kingdom” on it. It also had 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.

When contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal about the label, Bord Bia said it was told it was a “printing error” by the processing plant.

A spokesperson said 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”.

“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,” she added.

Centra said that 336 packs had been inadvertently packed with incorrect beef labelling information due to human error.

It was packed at Linden Foods, Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Linden Foods is jointly owned by ABP Food Group.

“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.