French President Francois Hollande has called for compulsory labelling and traceability of meat used in processed foods in Europe to prevent a repeat of the horsemeat scandal.
French and German agriculture ministers said yesterday they agreed on the need for origin labelling and would try to find a deal on meat traceability at a meeting of European farm ministers in Brussels on Monday.
"There needs to be traceability, that is what I want from talks on a European level," Mr Hollande said this morning.
"We need compulsory labelling on meats that will be used in processed foods," Mr Hollande said at the start of the annual agriculture fair in Paris.
He added that while waiting for European legislation, France would encourage voluntary initiatives to improve labelling.
The EU wants to put regulation in place to avoid a repeat of a scandal that burst after horse meat was found instead of beef in products around the bloc.
The scandal, which has triggered recalls of ready meals and damaged confidence in Europe's vast food industry, erupted last month when tests carried out in Ireland revealed that some beef products contained horse meat.
Elsewhere, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association has called for sanctions and penalties to be used against processors that deliberately engage in fraudulent mislabelling.
ICMSA President John Comer said Ireland's reputation as a primary producer of beef must be protected.
Co Tipperary meat plant investigated
Meanwhile, the Special Investigations unit at the Department of Agriculture is continuing its investigations into a meat plant in Co Tipperary that was found to be exporting some horse meat labelled as beef to the Czech Republic.
The unit, which is working with gardaí, is examining files and computers from the company, which has a deboning license.
A spokeswoman for the department said they have been in contact with authorities in the Czech Republic and would be in regular contact with them over the weekend if there are further updates.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has described the situation as unacceptable.
Yesterday, his department said it had suspended operations at the B&F meats plant in Carrick-on-Suir.
The department said the plant had been sending some horse meat, labelled in Czech as beef, to a single customer in the Czech Republic through a UK-based trader.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has called on Mr Coveney to step aside from the horse meat issue and establish an independent inquiry into the matter.
Speaking in Sligo, Mr Martin said confidence in the beef industry has been undermined.
He said the minister has misread the gravity and scale of the issue and has not answered questions satisfactorily in the Dáil.
Meanwhile, Bord Bia has said it is monitoring the situation after the latest horse meat find in Ireland.
It issued a statement, which read: "It is too early to assess the implications for Ireland of this latest development, which comes amidst a continuous flow of similar revelations across Europe as the story has unfolded over the last six weeks.
"Bord Bia is remaining in close contact with buyers across all markets and will closely monitor the situation in the event of any new concerns emerging over the coming days."
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