Consumers who find produce from overseas labelled as being of Irish origin in supermarkets should flag the issue with the food safety watchdog, rather than with the agri-food regulator, it has stated.

The recently-established Agri-Food Regulator office did not comment on whether it could play a future role as an intermediary between fresh produce growers and retailers on the issue of country of origin labelling concerns.

“The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is the body responsible for overseeing and enforcing legislation on food labelling in Ireland,” a spokesperson for the regulator said.

“It is the responsibility of all food business owners, including retailers, to ensure compliance with food law including those relating to food labelling.

“Any concerns in relation to food labelling issues should be brought to the attention of the FSAI - details of how to make a complaint can be found on their website.”

'Accurate and clear'

The FSAI maintains that the information used to describe foods must be “accurate, clear and easy to understand for the consumer”.

It states that this information, including on a food’s country of origin, “must not be misleading”.

Over recent weeks, an Irish Farmers Journal reader has documented instances of two supermarket chains displaying fresh produce in stores which have different origins listed on shelves than is listed on product packaging, or contradictory countries of origins mentioned on the same shelf label.

The product lines affected include:

  • Shelf labelling for Cauliflowers origin: Republic of Ireland, with product boxes showing a UK origin.
  • Shelf labelling for Scallions 1pce Ireland, which were also labelled as of Mexican origin.
  • Shelf labelling for Cauliflower Irish 1pce, which were also labelled as being of Polish origin.

    • The Irish Farmers Journal is still awaiting comment from both retailers.