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Can someone explain the country codes on food for me?

  • 07-12-2008 11:54pm
    #1
    dohda
    Registered Users Posts: 172 ✭✭


    Hi,

    For probably the first time ever (not good I know), I have gone to check the codes on my food/pork.

    I have had a good look around the net and I cant seem to find the exact info Im looking for. Was hoping soemone here might be able to help.

    Questions are:

    1. What is the difference between IRL and IE in the small oval on the food?
    2. Is this where the pig was fed or slaughtered?
    3. If as I suspect IE is for Northern Ireland does this meat have to go in the bin also?

    Thanks for any help and your time.


Comments

  • #2
    Khannie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,485 ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Northern Ireland has UK on it. I know this because Lidls milk comes from the North and has UK written on it (I always check country of origin because I like to avoid buying food that has travelled too far (and therefore caused the release of lots of greenhouse gases)).

    AFAIK there's no difference between IE and IRL.


  • #3
    glupi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10 ✭glupi


    As far as I remember, the food is made in Ireland if the first two numbers on the bar code are 50. I think.


  • #4
    dohda
    Registered Users Posts: 172 ✭✭dohda


    This is the same kind of problem I was having. Like me there seems to be confusion over what exactly means what onn these codes. Surely this means that some department or other is not doing a very good job? I mean what is the point on putting these details on food if people are not 100% about what they mean???

    I have just spent another half hour on the web trying to get a definitive guide to this and I cant find one!

    Anybody have a link that can answer these questions for me???

    * thansk for replies btw. It just annoys me that these codes are supposed to be there to help us but yet the info is not redilly available.*

    Anyone any idea on the whole packaged or raised question? Or why Ireland might have an IE and an IRL code??


  • #5
    mildews
    Registered Users Posts: 213 ✭✭mildews


    Here is a link to the FSAI website..
    http://www.fsai.ie/publications/guidance_notes/gn17_p41_43.pdf

    also...
    http://www.fsai.ie/publications/guidance_notes/gn17_p44_72.pdf

    IE and IRL are both Ireland. This does not tell you the origin of the meat it is the slaughter house or processing plant number.


  • #6
    dohda
    Registered Users Posts: 172 ✭✭dohda


    Thanks for that. Is the fact that traceabillity only seems to go back as far as the slaughter house the reason they had to recall all pork off the shelves?

    Does this not mean (as an example) that a chicken burger factory could fly in a million asian chickens with bird flu, put us all at risk but then kill the chickens here, make burgers and sell them as Irish?

    That doesn't seem like very good traceabillity to me?


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  • #7
    noby
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,114 ✭✭✭noby


    dohda wrote: »
    Thanks for that. Is the fact that traceabillity only seems to go back as far as the slaughter house the reason they had to recall all pork off the shelves?

    The 100% recall wasn't a traceability issue (not entirely, anyway).

    All animals arriving at the slaughter house are stamped, identifying which farm it comes from. After the primary cuts are made traceability can be a bit more tricky as, for example every chop isn't going to be stamped. If a butcher gets a shoulder of pork it will be stamped, and he then knows where it came from, before he continues to butcher it.
    That's my limited understanding of it anyway.
    dohda wrote: »
    Does this not mean (as an example) that a chicken burger factory could fly in a million asian chickens ... kill the chickens here, make burgers and sell them as Irish?
    Yes


  • #8
    mildews
    Registered Users Posts: 213 ✭✭mildews


    dohda wrote: »
    Thanks for that. Is the fact that traceabillity only seems to go back as far as the slaughter house the reason they had to recall all pork off the shelves?

    Does this not mean (as an example) that a chicken burger factory could fly in a million asian chickens with bird flu, put us all at risk but then kill the chickens here, make burgers and sell them as Irish?

    Traceability goes back to the Farm where the animal was reared. All meats leaving a slaughter house will have a traceable "batch number" before it goes to the retailer, The retailer is required by Law to retain all batch numbers etc. All retailers of Beef in particular (Restaurants, Butchers) are required to display the country of origin of their beef.

    The main reason for the Total pork recall was because some processing plants will use only certain cuts from the animal like the gammons only and the rest would be used by a different plant to make sausages and processed pork products and could be supplied from a number of diferent slaughter houses.

    As far as chicken factories are concerned, the importation of live birds from outside the EU has been banned and all chicken meat imported is required to go through stringent tests.

    If meats have been imported and only processed in Ireland, it must be labelled clearly with the country of origin.


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