IFA President Welcomes Commitment from Tesco to Irish Beef

IFA President John Bryan said he has been in contact with Tesco Ireland and they have confirmed they will continue to buy Irish beef valued at over €177m per annum. In addition, Tesco have also confirmed they plan to source their frozen burgers from another Irish beef processor.

John Bryan welcomed Tesco’s commitment to the sector, which is a strong message reflecting their full confidence in the integrity of Irish beef.

The IFA President said, “Farmers are angry over the breach in standards outside the farm gate, and the failure to ensure that the specification set down by a customer was not complied with in full at the Silvercrest plant. Serious lessons from the equine DNA episode must be learned, and measures put in place to ensure that something like this never happens again. The value and reputation of the Irish beef sector cannot be compromised”.

He said IFA have sought meetings with the meat industry and the regulatory authorities, including the Food Safety Authority and the Department of Agriculture, to insist that the necessary controls are put in place at processing level, and are strictly observed.