Michael Maguire, IFA National Pigs Chairman has highlighted the failure of Kerry Foods to place the Origin Ireland logo on their ham products, claiming that this has lead to confusion among consumers who want to buy quality assured and traceable Irish ham.

Speaking at a protest organised by pig producers at the Kerry plant in Shillelagh, Co Wicklow this morning, the IFA National Pigs Chairman said, "consumers are entitled to know the origin of the ham they buy. As part of our campaign to reclaim the domestic pigmeat market, we are insisting that an Irish company such as Kerry Group supports Irish pig producers. This can be achieved by using the Bord Bia logo and avoiding any doubt in the customer's mind when they are shopping."

Irish meat produced under the Quality Assurance Origin Ireland logo is fully traceable from farm to fork and guarantees consumers the highest possible standards of production.

Kerry Group currently occupies 30% of the ham market, but they have so far failed to display the Origin Ireland logo on their products.

Mr Maguire said, "the failure to properly identify pigmeat is misleading consumers and damaging Irish pig production which is worth over €400m to the economy and directly employs 7,000 people."

"A survey carried out by IFA showed that two-thirds of respondents felt misled when it was revealed that some traditional Irish labels did not contain 100% Irish meat. The Bord Bia logo can be used only for Irish meat, and processors can clear up the confusion which exists by correctly identifying the origin of all meats," declared the IFA National Pigs Chairman.

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