The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has asked Bord Bia to convene an immediate meeting of its board on what the association termed “Dawn Farm Foods use of Brazilian beef”.

The call came after Dawn Farm Foods told the Irish Farmers Journal that while Irish, EU and UK product accounted for 99% of the company’s beef supplies in 2025, “Brazilian beef accounted for the remaining 1%”.

The chair of Bord Bia’s board Larry Murrins is also the CEO of Dawn Farm Foods.

Questions arose around whether Dawn Farm Foods imports Brazilian beef after an image circulated on social media, allegedly of signage displayed in a Subway outlet in Ireland.

The sign stated that Dawn Farm Foods had certified that the raw materials used in production of beef supplies to Subway “are currently sourced from EU approved plants in Europe and Brazil”.

'Improved labelling'

Dawn Farm Foods subsequently told the Irish Farmers Journal that none of the Brazilian beef it imported was supplied to Subway stores on the island of Ireland, as did Subway.

In addition to calling for Bord Bia’s board to be convened as a matter of urgency, ICMSA president Denis Drennan said that the issue “clearly highlights the need for improved labelling” and the establishment of a register of companies purchasing Brazilian beef.

Drennan acknowledged the “level of transparency in this case” and urged Irish companies to commit to using “Irish beef only and to support Irish beef farmers”.

“We do think that it’s critical that consumers can be guaranteed that the beef they are purchasing is meeting the highest EU standards and we would envisage a public register of those companies importing ‘third country’ beef so that everyone knows the origin of beef being supplied,” he added.