The Consumers' Association of Ireland has criticised vague and misleading food labels which often try to pass products off as Irish-made when they aren't.
CAI chief executive Dermott Jewell said some food producers weren't doing consumers any favours with vague labels such as "good for your body and your soul" or "because you're worth it".
Familiar products such as Good Time Irish marmalade or Síucra were no longer manufactured in Ireland, despite their names, he pointed out.
Some products fail to indicate the country of manufacture on the label, or gave an Irish address only when they were actually made overseas.
He was speaking today at an open meeting hosted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's (FSAI) Food Safety Consultative Council to discuss the merits of buying Irish food.
Consumers were eager to go back to basics and to support artisan producers but they weren't always getting the best, Mr Jewell said.
"Quite a number of products are being misrepresented and consumers don't know about it; they think they're buying Irish but they're also paying far more than the product is worth".
Mr Jewell said consumers were often confused by creative marketing techniques and as a result, saw the best-before date as the most reliable and the most sought after information on the label.
"Consumers are bombarded on a daily basis with a number of concerns ranging from issues with genetically modified food and organic foods, to labelling and the origin of food stuffs. What we have found is that consumers are simply concerned about foods that are better, faster, fresher, cheaper, and most importantly, what country they are sourced from. However, best-before dates are ranked as the most important deciding factor when buying foods, with price coming a close second. Our concern is that manufacturers mislead consumers on the labels they provide," said Mr Jewell.
Paul Kelly of Food and Drink Industry Ireland admitted there were some "inconsistencies" in food labelling but said it was clear in the vast majority of cases where food came from.
Consumer lawyer Raymond O'Rourke predicted that the European Parliament would shortly introduce mandatory country of origin labelling on food products, something that Irish farmers have been calling for. He said
Ireland needed to develop its artisanal food specialities and seek the same sort of EU designation for the best of them as is given to Parma ham or Rioja wine. To date, only four Irish products have been awarded this designation compared to 190 in Italy.
Economist Jim Power said the agri-food sector had an important role to play in aiding economic recovery. Over 150,000 people are directly employed in the sector.
