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Keelaghan Wholesale Meats was one of more than 30 companies and individuals investigated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) in relation to food fraud in 2016.
As revealed in the Irish Farmers Journal, the company based in Ashbourne Industrial Park, Co Meath, was convicted of six charges related to breaches of food safety legislation.
The six offences included falsely declaring Irish origin for beef imported from Poland, Lithuania or Germany; the application of false Irish slaughter and cutting plant codes used on packaging labels and having an inadequate beef traceability plan.
The company was fined a total of €16,000 in addition to €10,000 as an agreed contribution to costs.
The FSAI’s audit and investigations team, together with other State regulatory authorities and official agencies, conducted 34 investigations last year where breaches of food law and food fraud were suspected.
Illegal slaughter and stolen animals
The food fraud investigations were varied in nature and included illegal slaughter and cutting of meat and stolen animals entering the food chain.
They also examined the sale of meat on social media from an unregistered source, breaches of Protected Designation of Origin and mislabelling of meat and poultry.
They also investigated protected disclosure from a food laboratory, fatality from the consumption of methanol, illegal description and sale of wine as prosecco, misleading sales of craft beers and counterfeit wine.
The investigations resulted in enforcement actions and criminal proceedings being taken against offenders.
Roadside checkpoints
During the year, authority staff worked with other official agency staff at six roadside checkpoints in five counties, organised by An Garda Síochána.
Authorised officers from the relevant Health Service Executive local health office and the local authority also attended. A total of 85 vehicles were stopped and inspected with follow-up action taken as required.
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