Irish retailers have moved to play down their influence on the specifications imposed by factories for farmers to receive the 12c/kg in-spec bonus.

The Irish Farmers Journal asked Lidl, Aldi, Tesco and SuperValu what their beef requirements were for age limits, movements and residency.

Tesco and Musgraves, which supply SuperValu, are represented by Retail Ireland.

Its director Thomas Burke said: “There is obviously a requirement in terms of those companies that are registered for the Bord Bia quality mark [to] have a certain base line and that does appear to be 30 months.”

However, he said supermarket requirements varied depending on the meat cut, whether a store has a butcher counter and whether the meat was for a premium or value range.

He added that the Irish market was less than 10% of the total beef market and, as a result, processors focused on international customer requirements.

Burke said: “If you have 90% of the market requiring one thing and 10% requiring something different, you’ll go for the 90% given it’s the vast majority of the market.”

While the ongoing beef crisis was a concern for retailers, he said it was “an issue between processor and farmer at this stage”.

Standards

A McDonald’s spokesperson said it requires Bord Bia quality-assured beef that meets a number of standards, including movements and residency, but did not elaborate.

Supermac’s boss Pat McDonagh confirmed it had no issue with beef from animals over 30 months or the number of movements.

Aldi declined to comment on its specifications, while Lidl has said its specification allows for beef from animals up to 36 months.