RESTOCKING STORES:IRISH PORK products have started to reappear in limited quantities on retail shelves around the State as the authorities relax the measures imposed last weekend.
Superquinn said it would be selling limited quantities of Irish pork from today, and added that an increasing number of its smaller suppliers were in a position to resume deliveries once again. According to Simon Burke, chairman of the supermarket chain, it was concentrating first on sourcing supplies of sausages, rashers and Christmas hams.
SuperValu said it hoped to have Irish bacon products, though not fresh pork, back on shelves today.
The Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland said product was beginning to flow into its members' shops once again after local authority vets certified it as safe, with no connection to the tainted feedstuff at the centre of the scare.
Tesco Ireland said from today its stores would be stocking ham and pork from other EU countries. A spokesman said this was a "temporary measure" until Irish supplies became available again.
Breeo Foods, one of the State's largest suppliers of pork products, has also resumed supplies to shops, but with product sourced from other EU states.
In advertisements placed in today's newspapers, the manufacturers behind the Galtee, Shaw's, Roscrea and Barcastle brands say they are temporarily sourcing all their pork requirements from EU countries outside Ireland.
Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith yesterday announced that all necessary controls were now in place to allow the resumption of supplies of Irish pork and bacon to consumers.
He said permitted pork products would carry a special label from Bord Bia to confirm they were safe and had no association with the contaminated feed.
The controls will be implemented by department or local veterinary authority personnel at pigmeat processing plants.
Pigmeat produced during the affected period, from September 1st to December 7th, may be released on to the market if the processor can demonstrate to department or local authority vets that it was entirely derived from pigs that did not come from any of the restricted pig herds.Pigmeat produced before September 1st can also stay on the market if the department is satisfied the products involved were not fed any of the dioxin-contaminated pig feed.
Bord Bia has also taken advertisements in today's newspapers seeking to clarify what it says are "misconceptions or inaccuracies" in the marketplace.
It says it is working closely with exporters to reassure customers about the measures taken by the Irish authorities in relation to the recall.
"Maintaining market confidence in the Irish meat industry, both here and abroad, is an absolute priority for Bord Bia, and we will continue to work with the industry to assure customers of the safety and quality of Irish meat," said Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia chief executive.
One local processor, Ballaghaderreen Bacon Factory, told The Irish Times it had resumed slaughtering on Tuesday after satisfying veterinary inspectors about its product. Managing director Gerry Cunniffe said his factory spent Monday working with department officials to demonstrate the traceability of his product.
