Muscle fibres and packaging were discovered in a consignment of surplus food from Britain which was imported into Ireland to be fed to animals, the Irish Farmers Journal has learned.

The imported bread meal was delivered to a farm in the south of the country in November 2022.

In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal this week, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine explained that the feed was tested and found to contain the prohibited material.

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“The farmer was informed immediately to cease feeding the product.

“The remaining product was sent for disposal under Department of Agriculture supervision.

“The Department carried out a risk assessment and found that the risk to public health from the incident was negligible.”

The Department worked with the importer, haulier and UK authorities to investigate the source of the contamination and subsequently issued trader notices, reminding the industry that imported food from third countries containing animal feed byproducts from milk/dairy or eggs must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate and that packaging is prohibited.

It should be emphasised that strict Department controls did find the prohibited material and ceased its feeding.

One industry professional commented that: “The Department should not have to issue a trader notice. Businesses such as this should have been aware of the law.”

Bread meal often contains products like pizza, bread or cake. It is being used as a direct replacement for grain, Irish or otherwise.

The revelation comes as Government aims to increase the area of tillage in this country by over 50,000ha in seven years.