Farmers' wives have been roped in to policing supermarket meat counters in the Republic of Ireland in a campaign to stop imported pork products being passed off as Irish.
The women have been recruited as unofficial auditors by the Irish Farmers' Association, which claims processors are importing pigmeat from Continental Europe and exploiting loopholes in the labelling system to mislead consumers.
"This is happening at a time when the Irish industry is on its knees," said IFA pigs committee chairman Michael Maguire. "We have suffered a double blow - our feed costs are up 30% and our prices down 5%. As a result, members are each losing about €3,800 a week. If the pigmeat sector is to survive, it's essential that we have the support of processors and supermarkets."
The women have been asked to look out for the Bord Bia quality assurance logo, which the IFA wants all processors and supermarkets to use. Maguire warned that the IFA campaign would involve naming and shaming companies that did not support Irish pork and bacon products, in a move that mirrors a similar strategy introduced by the NFU in the UK this week for lamb.
"There must be real differentiation between Irish and imported product so the consumer is in no doubt about what is traceable," he said. "At present, product carrying the Bord Bia logo is mixed together with product that does not and the result is confusion. Over the next three months we will monitor whether the commitments given are being implemented."
Meanwhile, a picket protest by farmers outside County Kilkenny processing plant Callan Bacon was lifted after Maguire reported that management had given a commitment it would "increase significantly" the quantity of Irish pigmeat being used.
It had also promised to introduce three new brand lines carrying the Bord Bia logo, he said.
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