The Irish Farmers Association may be pushing an open door in its demands for the transparent labelling of pork products, specifying their country of origin. More than half of the pigmeat for sale in Irish supermarkets was found, when DNA tested, to be of foreign origin. Retailers and meat companies were accused by the IFA of misleading consumers through the use of Irish names, pictures and ambiguous wording on the packaging. It acknowledged the practice was not illegal under current EU legislation.

The European Commission is expected to change that. It has been directed to publish new rules and regulations by next month, affecting pork, lamb, poultry, goats, honey and other products, indicating their place of origin and their material content. Following detailed consideration, changes will take effect from December, 2014. How explicit the new requirements will be, remains unclear. But the horsemeat scandal earlier this year and the negative consumer reaction it generated across Europe has strengthened the hand of the Commission.

Meat plant owners, retailers and some member States have lobbied for minimal change, suggesting that “the EU” as a source of origin would be sufficient. British pig producers, who receive a premium price for their output, want premium labelling, specifying where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. The IFA has taken a similar position. This is in line with existing, stringent beef labelling requirements. A compromise could involve identifying the country where the animal was reared and slaughtered, but not where it was born.

Both processors and retailers have argued that the cost of introducing and implementing strict regulations would be excessive. They favour minimal change. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland takes a different view. Its website states: "the most important aspect of labelling is that the customer should not be misled". Unfortunately, that has not been the case to date. Sharp practices that took place under the old regime should be outlawed.