IFA Proposes Pork Protest

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has announced they are to stage a protest over the delay in completing the pig slaughtering programme.

The protest is expected to begin at midday as talks between the Taoiseach, Minister of Agriculture and pig meat processors continue this morning.

The IFA are now pressing to reopen their processing plants as quickly as possible to minimize the damage to the industry as the Government tries to secure funding from Brussels to compensate the farmers who will now have to slaughter their pigs and be left dangerously out of pocket.

Pictures depicting the safe meat now in production have also today been released by the IFA, which show the specially marked packaging showing uncontaminated meat.

The current crises led on from last weekend's recall of all pork products following the discovery of a contaminant in pig feed by a dioxin known as PCB.

Dioxin levels in the pig meat were between 80 and 200 times the safe limits.

An IFA spokesman said: "The complete withdrawal of all Irish pork products must be seen as an emergency precautionary measure to reassure the public. This action was taken to ensure consumer confidence in the safety of Irish-produced products, according to IFA President Padraig Walshe."

Mr Walshe said that over 90% of Irish production was completely free of any connection to the single source of the contaminated feed and that over the week-end the IFA had co-operated fully with the Department of Agriculture, FSAI and public health agencies to isolate the problem.

See: Tyrone Link In PCB Contamination Probed

(DW)