Hayes supports country of origin labelling of processed foods

Fine Gael Dublin MEP, Brian Hayes this week voted in the European Parliament in favour of introducing country of origin labelling for meat in processed foods.The European Commission should now bring forward legislation making it mandatory for processed foods to state the origin of its meat.

“I voted in favour of Country of origin labelling because I believe consumers have a right to know where the meat they are consuming comes from. I think it is in the interest of countries like Ireland, which has a significant agri-food industry, that we move in this direction.”

“In 2013 the Irish beef industry was threatened when it was discovered that burgers sold in supermarkets did not contain beef but rather horsemeat. The ‘Horsemeat Scandal’ demonstrated that some meat producers were quite happy to make quick financial gains to the detriment of consumers’ interests.”

“Full origin labelling for beef has been in place since the BSE crisis and similar origin labelling will soon come into force for pork and chicken. I believe that it makes perfect sense that similar regulations are in place for processed foods. Consumers are entitled to know the origin of the food they consume.”