SUPERMARKETS:IRISH SUPERMARKETS began clearing their shelves of Irish pork as soon as the recall was announced and all the major retailers were offering full refunds yesterday.
Aldi, which stocks a considerable quantity of fresh Irish pork, said it was providing full refunds to affected consumers.
A spokesman said the company was monitoring events closely but that it was too early to say when it would be able to restock its shelves with Irish pork, or whether it would source pig meat from outside the jurisdiction.
Uncertainty was a theme echoed by all the retailers contacted by The Irish Times.
Tesco Ireland spokesman Seamus Banim said their stores’ shelves had been stripped of Irish pork overnight on Saturday, and by early yesterday morning most shoppers had been made aware of the recall through the media.
He said staff in the stores were not fielding a large volume of questions about the absence of the pork products.
Tesco is also offering refunds to shoppers who had bought its own- brand products, and will give refunds on branded pork items on production of receipts.
The Tesco spokesman described the situation as ‘‘fluid’’ and said he could not say when Tesco Ireland would be in a position to restock its shelves with pork products, either from the Republic or elsewhere.
“It all happened very quickly and I would expect the situation to become much clearer in the early part of this week,” he said.
In a statement, the Superquinn chain of supermarkets said it was moving swiftly to establish that its supply line was free from contamination.
Chairman Simon Burke said: “We have always been trusted for meat quality and our first priority is to reassure customers that any meat products on sale in our stores are safe to eat.”
Superquinn said senior managers were on the shop floors yesterday to answer consumers’ questions.
A spokesman said that shoppers had been asking about the beef on sale in the stores after it emerged that nearly 40 beef farms had been supplied with contaminated feed; the FSAI has said beef has been unaffected by the recall.
Superquinn is also offering refunds on branded products on presentation of a receipt.
For its own-brand pork products it said refunds would be given in the absence of a receipt, while people returning branded products without receipts would be given store vouchers.
The spokesman said it was “a bit too early to say” whether it would look to source hams from outside the State in the run-up to Christmas.
But he expressed the hope that Superquinn would be in a position to restock their shelves with Irish pork before Christmas.
Meanwhile, Musgrave confirmed its retail partners in SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak and DayToday will provide refunds for all affected pig meat products in line with their usual returns policy.
An official spokesperson for Dunnes Stores could not be reached for comment. However, refunds were being given without difficulty to shoppers in possession of receipts at outlets in Dublin city.
The Irish Hotels Federation said all members had been notified of the pork recall and had responded quickly.
Hotels around the State said breakfast service went generally smoothly, despite the absence of at least some traditional items. Kate Zemla, assistant manager of the Harbour Hotel in Galway, said the bacon used by the hotel was Dutch, but all other pork items had to be left off the menu.