444. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 856 of 24 March 2026, which was referred to the FSAI by her Department if an update will issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48510/26]

The Deputy will be aware that this matter relates to an incident notified to Member States by the European Commission in November 2025 concerning consignments of beef originating from Brazil which were subsequently found to include material from animals treated with oestradiol, a substance not permitted in food-producing animals within the European Union.

The products concerned were legally imported into the EU and distributed through several Member States before a limited quantity (approximately 128kg) was subsequently traced to three retail food businesses in Ireland via Northern Ireland. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), in collaboration with the HSE, took immediate action to trace the affected consignments. Environmental Health Officers carried out inspections at the relevant premises and confirmed that no implicated product remained on the market at the time of inspection.

As the implicated product had already passed its expiry date by the time inspections were undertaken, it was not possible to determine how it may ultimately have been sold to consumers.

I wish to apologise to the Deputy that these related and composite responses were not fully reflected in earlier FSAI correspondence. I understand that the Deputy recently met with the Chief Executive Officer of the FSAI, during which these matters were discussed in detail.

Given the technical and operational nature of the issues involved, any further queries relating to specific aspects of this incident may most appropriately be directed to the FSAI, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the enforcement of food safety legislation in Ireland.