Pork recall takes the glaze off busy Christmas season
PAUL Craughan of O'Connell's Butchers has reassured the public that his award-winning ham will be back on the shelves within days.
Traders, shops, hotels, restaurants and consumers in the city have been hit by the Government's total recall of all Irish pork products on the market since September 1 in the biggest food scare since BSE.
City supermarkets emptied their shelves of bacon, ham, rashers, sausages and puddings on Saturday night and Limerick's many butchers are also feeling the effects.
"We have withdrawn all our current produce but we expect to have fresh produce back later on in the week as soon as the Food Safety Authority gives the go ahead," Mr Craughan said this Monday.
An animal feeds plant in Carlow is an the centre of investigations into how harmful dioxins got into the food chain of pigs. The nine piggeries in the Republic supplied by the factory represent only a small fraction of the Irish supply.
"It's though to be only 10 per cent of the total kill so the total recall is very much precautionary. Because we have had scares in the past it's important to be able to reassure consumers so they can have 100 per cent confidence. It's all about consumer confidence and traceability. All the meat we have here for example is Bord Bia approved and 100 per cent traceable," Mr Craughan said.
It was unfortunate for O'Connell's suppliers in Limerick, Tipperary and Clare that the pork scare had come at the busiest time of year for pig farmers when demand for Christmas ham pushes prices up.
"Currently there is about five months supply in the country ready to go; you won't get a busier time than this for the producers but hopefully they will get good news soon," Mr Craughan said.
Only two weeks ago, O'Connell's were celebrating another gold medal for their glazed ham as well as an award for having the country's best spiced beef in the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland Awards. Customers can get refunds for all pork bought at O'Connell's but nobody had handed their ham back by 9.30am this Monday.
The Government has emphasised there is no risk to human health because of the short period of potential exposure on dioxins.
For the latest information on the pork recall, see www.fsai.ie
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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