228. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if her Department plans to tighten regulations on food labelling in light of recent exposes showing widespread mislabelling of foreign produce as Irish either on the packaging or on the shelf labels in supermarkets in Ireland. [19983/26]

The overarching legislative framework for food information to consumers is Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC). Under this EU Regulation, the general rule is that the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance is mandatory where failure to indicate this might mislead the consumer as to the true country of origin or place of provenance of the food.

Where a food label provides any suggestion or indication of the origin of the food, then country of origin rules apply. Origin information can be indicated on a label by statements/words, pictures (map, scene), symbols (flags), words/terms or colours/designs that refer to a geographical origin. Where the country of origin or place of provenance rules apply, it is the responsibility of the food business operator to ensure that the information that is provided on the label is accurate, clear and easy to understand for the consumer. This applies to food which is prepacked for the final consumer and to food which is being sold as a food ingredient to other food business.

All EU legislation in the area of food labelling is harmonised at EU level, meaning that the same rules and standards apply across all Member States. This harmonisation ensures consistency and transparency for consumers, facilitates trade within the single market, and helps prevent misleading practices by setting clear requirements for labelling and country of origin information. National authorities are responsible for implementing and enforcing these harmonised regulations in their respective countries.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has statutory responsibility for the enforcement of food legislation in Ireland under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998, which covers the labelling of foods.

Enforcement is carried out primarily through service contracts with official agencies acting on behalf of the FSAI. These include the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).

Compliance with food labelling requirements is verified through routine inspections and targeted official controls carried out by the official agencies.