Keogh’s Farm of Westpalstown, Oldtown, Co Dublin, could face sanctions from Bord Bia after it incorrectly applied Bord Bia’s Quality Assurance stamp to French potatoes.

The company told the Irish Farmers Journal that the label was applied in error.

Bord Bia sent a team to audit the business on Monday. The outcome of that audit will set out what sanction the company is to face, although the audit findings will not be made public, Bord Bia said.

Keogh’s Farm labelled packs of baby potatoes originating in France with Bord Bia’s Quality Assurance Origin Ireland mark.

The mislabelled potatoes were sent to a number of Musgraves stores over from 3 January 2023 to 9 January 2023*.

Recall

Bord Bia stated that it had become aware of the mislabelling on Friday and the affected potatoes were recalled.

Keogh’s Farm commented to the Irish Farmers Journal that it did not intend on misleading consumers and that it was a “small batch” of baby potatoes that were mislabelled.

The potatoes were labelled as 400g Easy Cook Baby New Potatoes, with the Bord Bia Irish Origin Quality Assurance mark visible on the packaging as well as information suggesting their French origin.

“The packaging for the French variety has never previously carried the Bord Bia logo and clearly states the contents are sourced from France,” a spokesperson said.

Keogh’s Farm stated that a review is ongoing into its label approval procedures to ensure the issue does not reoccur.

An opinion is to be given by the Bord Bia auditor as to whether the breach is to be deemed deliberate and/or recurring.

Misuse of the logo can carry fines of up to €10,000 plus VAT and a breach in the terms of Bord Bia logo use has the potential to suspend companies from Bord Bia quality assurance schemes.

Fines can be issued even in the case of “genuine and isolated” mistakes, with the potential for further charges to be incurred by Keogh’s Farm to foot the bill for unannounced Bord Bia inspections.

*This article was updated on 19 January 2023 to reflect a correction in the dates the potatoes had been supplied by Keogh’s Farm. The dates listed in the original article had been supplied in a statement issued by a spokesperson from Keogh’s Farm.