COMMERCIAL PIG feed in Ireland typically comprises barley, wheat and soya beans, possibly with minor ingredients such as maize or cereal byproducts and, if mixed for young pigs' rations, additional whey or other milk products.
"Pigs have to grow at a certain rate every day or else you can't make any money from them. You have to feed them a good quality cereal diet - ideally 80 per cent cereal, 20 per cent protein and soya," says Amii Cahill of the IFA.
In the premises at the centre of this weeks investigation, an ingredient comprising chocolate, bread, crisps and other waste was being produced apparently for use by farmers who mixed their own feed.
This high-energy ingredient could be used as a substitute for barley, the price of which has increased dramatically with the global rise in grain prices over the past two years.
The Department of Agriculture considered the Co Carlow plant and others like it to be "low risk" because its food ingredients would have already passed the most rigorous testing regimes for human consumption.
However, the problem arose with the oil that was being used to dry recycled dough.
"In such an establishment you are required to, by law, use the appropriate oil, senior inspector Dermot Ryan said. We have established that the oil being used was not appropriate for this
operation." The operator did not have the required Environmental Protection Agency licence for the oil, he said.