Food labelling “abuse” raised at Oireachtas Committee by Mayo TD

Speaking at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food last week, Mayo TD Paul Lawless challenged officials over what he described as misleading packaging practices that give shoppers the impression they are buying Irish produce when, in fact, the contents may be imported.

For decades, Irish consumers have been presented with green, white and orange packaging and prominent “Irish” labels, Lawless said. However, products brought before the committee by the Aontú TD showed that closer inspection often revealed foreign origin.

“There is a litany of food labeling, basically, abuse,” Lawless told the hearing. “It’s what’s happening — let’s call it what it is.”

Among the issues discussed were what Lawless described as weak compliance checks, a lack of meaningful penalties for mislabelling, and uncertainty over accountability within the supply chain. He also referenced concerns around recalled Brazilian beef — linked internationally to carcinogenic growth hormones — which was consumed in Ireland, claiming the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) was unable or unwilling to provide full details.

“It is totally unfair to allow mislabeling to happen for busy customers who don't have time to scrutinise labeling,” said Paul Lawless. “And then on the other hand, there are Irish farmers who are basically subject to really tight regulation who are doing things by the book.”

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Lawless argued that Irish farmers operate under strict oversight, including inspections by An Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture, while imported products that “would never satisfy any Irish regulation” appear to be entering the market under potentially misleading labels.

The Mayo TD pressed officials on the level of inspections, enforcement orders and penalties imposed on retailers found to be in breach of labelling rules.

“What sanctions are in place for these retailers? What is the level of inspection? What is the level of penalties?” he asked. “You bring in products, essentially allow it to be mislabeled, and that product would never satisfy any Irish regulation. So how can it happen?”

Responding to the committee, senior official Michelle Minihan said approximately 6,500 to 7,000 labelling checks were carried out last year by the National Environmental Health Service of the HSE, with around 1,000 found to be non-compliant.

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However, she acknowledged that most cases were dealt with by giving food business operators an opportunity to remedy the issue within a short timeframe. Formal enforcement action was not always deemed necessary, depending on the severity of the breach.

Lawless said this approach was insufficient to restore public trust.

“Clear honest labels mean informed consumer choices and fairness for Irish producers,” he shared after the hearing. “And clear honest labelling must be backed up by strong monitoring, compliance checks and real penalties to ensure the system works.”

He added that he intends to continue raising the matter until “confidence and trust is restored in the food system”.

The committee’s examination of food labelling practices comes amid growing public scrutiny of origin claims and transparency in the agri-food sector — an issue of particular importance in counties like Mayo, where farming remains central to the local economy.