Pig farmers protested against the sale of European pigmeat in Irish stores outside a butcher’s shop in Co Laois on Thursday.

The protest was held in Portlaoise outside the Butcher’s Block, which the IFA claim stocks “almost exclusively” European pigmeat and which it claimed is misleading consumers.

Members of the IFA and local pig farmers present at the protest said that it is only after careful examination of their packaging that a consumer would know they are not buying an Irish pork meat product from the shop.

A spokesperson for the Butcher’s Block in Portlaoise told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We are not trying to mislead consumers, everything is labelled correctly and the country of origin is labelled too.”

Local farmer Paul Tully said he has been watching this shop over a period of time.

“From what I can see there is an impression given [that the meat on sale] is Irish, ]the labelling on the packaging is so small that you need a magnifying glass to see its country of origin. I think it’s very misleading to the consumers,” he said.

IFA pigs committee chair Roy Gallie commented: “The carbon footprint of imported pigmeat is one-quarter times greater per kg than homegrown pigmeat. Add to that we must then export the pigmeat out of Ireland that it displaces.

“The maths are simple because we are a food exporting nation, you will reduce by 50% the carbon footprint of your shopping, by insisting on buying Irish.”

Gallie was adamant that the campaign was a positive one, aimed at encouraging all the Irish consumers to buy Irish pigmeat.

He said the message from pig farmers was simple, asking consumers to buy Irish by choosing the Bord Bia Quality Assured product.

“Through a DNA trace back system, you are guaranteed that it is Irish and is produced by us to the internationally recognised highest standards and the best practice the symbol represent,” he explained.

DNA testing

Gallie and the IFA has today launched a farmer-led DNA testing programme for pigmeat.

“We have a DNA paternity test we can do on any piece of pigmeat sold here which will tell us if it is Irish or not.

“I am now launching a farmer-led sampling programme of butchers, of restaurants, hotels and Deli counters, anywhere that serves pig meat where the customer does not know the origin of the ham or the rasher or the pork chop.

“So in the event you are a hotel, a restaurant or a hospital, a petrol services station or the prison here in Portlaoise not sourcing Irish pigmeat, we will be on your case,” he concluded.

In their words: pig farmers at the protest

“I’m here to highlight what’s going on in butchers’ across the country. Consumers are being led to believe they are buying Irish and the majority of the time there is a lot of imported meat on the shelves.”

Michael O’Shea, Roscrea, Tipperary

“People buying foreign pigmeat need to know that it is clearly not Irish and where it is coming from, but most importantly local butchers need to support their local farmers.”

Matty Moore, Croghan, Offaly

“We’re really worried about the amount of imported meat out there at the moment. You shouldn’t need a magnifying glass to see the country of origin. The vast majority of consumers want to buy Irish and support local farmers. They should know exactly what they are getting.

Tom Horgan, Limerick, former IFA pig committee chair.