Food marketing agency Bord Bia has told the Irish Farmers Journal that there is to be a revision of the terms and conditions of the quality assurance scheme for poultry in the coming months.

In a statement, Bord Bia said its technical advisory committee, which comprises representatives of the relevant stakeholders for the poultry assurance scheme (including farmers, purchasers of product, the Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland), is responsible for drafting the scheme and formulating amendments where a scheme is revised.

The first meeting of the committee to look at possible revisions is taking place this month.

Artisan producers

Artisan poultry producers are hopeful the revised scheme will accommodate them as there are a number of conditions in the current scheme they do not comply with.

Robbie Fitzsimons, a chicken and turkey farmer from Midleton, Co Cork, lost a €15,000 contract with an Irish supermarket before Christmas because he does not qualify for the scheme. All Irish supermarkets carry only 100% Bord Bia-approved fresh chicken.

“I lost a very lucrative contract because I can’t get Bord Bia quality assured,” he said, adding that the rest of his supermarket contracts are now coming under pressure.

The problem for Fitzsimons is that he does both free-range and commercial growing, meaning he has two different species and production systems on his farm. However, under the criteria for the Bord Bia quality assurance scheme, there can only be one species and one production system on the land.

Fitzsimons also has poultry at all different ages because he has to suit market demand for different sizes of birds at various times of the year.

Bord Bia’s quality assurance also does not allow for birds of different ages on the one farm, a condition Bord Bia told the Irish Farmers Journal was agreed based on veterinary advice to minimise disease risk.

“Ballymaloe House buys my chickens for the cookery school so I think that is a good endorsement of my products,” Fitzsimons said. “Hopefully Bord Bia will see it that way when they begin considering revisions to the scheme.”

Similar situation

Sean Ring, a small-scale, free-range farmer from Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, who grows around 1,000 birds every week, is in a similar situation to Fitzsimons. Although his land is dedicated to the production of free-range poultry (he is currently in conversion to organic) he also has birds of different ages on his farm.

Ring supplies his Black Silkies to luxury food retail chains and Michelin-star restaurants across the country and is hoping to cement his reputation within the food industry by receiving Bord Bia quality assurance.

“I hope that when the standard is revised in the coming months, the likes of myself and Fitzsimons can be included,” he said. “We are anxious to work with Bord Bia to see how we can overcome the differences between artisan production and commercial production with special emphasis on welfare and the environment.”

Apart from the handful of artisan poultry producers and organic poultry producers around the country, which have their own certification system, virtually all Irish poultry farms are Bord Bia quality assured.

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