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15/01/07
Severe doubts about the assurance status of tens of thousands
of tonnes of beef imported from the Republic of Ireland (ROI)
have been raised following confirmation that South West Services
(Cork), the inspection company contracted by Bord Bia for the
Irish Beef Quality Assurance Scheme (BQAS) is not EN45004 accredited.
The warning comes from the National Beef Association which last
week was told by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB)
that South West Services (SWS), which employs a team of 52 BQAS
inspectors, has not got the accreditation required by a third
party company that has been contracted to carry out inspections
for an accredited product certification body like Bord Bia.
This means that farms inspected by SWS, which took over the contract for BQAS
inspections from EFSIS in September 2006, are not properly certified as farm
assured in the same way as farms in the UK are – although beef from those
farms has undoubtedly been imported into the UK over many months and distributed
through a range of supermarkets and other retail outlets.
“This is not a happy position for importers of beef from the Irish Republic
or for farmers in the UK. The major multiples, and other retailers, have for
many years insisted that they will only sell beef from assured farms that have
been inspected and certified by accredited bodies and while a tight supply system
for British beef has been developed it is now clear that there are huge holes
in the supply system constructed in the ROI,” explained NBA chief executive,
Robert Forster.
“We have warned retailers about the possibility of shortfalls in assurance
guarantees on beef imported from the ROI on many occasions since June 2006 when
we first became aware that Bord Bia, which installed BQAS, was faced with inspection
problems but the real extent of those difficulties has only now emerged.”
According to the NBA only 5,000 farms in the ROI are properly assured because
they were previously inspected by EFSIS, a body that carried the necessary EN45004
accreditation, and the 7,000 farms inspected since September 2006 by SWS can
only be properly assured if the individual inspectors employed by SWS are sub-contracted
by Bord Bia and Bord Bia has direct control over them while they are conducting
their inspections.
“The rules on this are quite clear. If Bord Bia, recruits, trains, controls
and monitors the individual inspectors then the company that employs them, SWS,
does not require EN45004 accreditation,” said Mr Forster
“However Bord Bia has publicly stated on many occasions that it has contracted
the company, SWS, to carry out the farm inspections,”
“This means that because this work is contracted to a company, rather than
contracted to individual inspectors, the company, SWS, must be EN45004 accredited
and the IBNA has confirmed that it is not.”
“In these circumstances it is impossible for all beef imported from Ireland
to be farm assured, a condition demanded of UK farmers by their supermarket customers,
and so importers will have to adjust their import levels if they are to avoid
being accused of operating double standards.”
“As we see it the farcical situation in the ROI can only be resolved if
Bord Bia, which as the certification body is already accredited, takes over the
inspectors and then re-inspects all 7,000 farms. Alternatively SWS has to achieve
EN45004 accreditation and then re-inspect the farms as an accredited inspection
body.”
“Either way the repairs will take time and UK farmers will be distinctly
unhappy at the continued delivery of more beef from the ROI that lacks BQAS cover
they have to achieve.”
“There is little point in establishing farm assurance schemes if inspection
is not robust, or there are insufficient farms in the system to guarantee delivery,
and importers cannot be confident of buying beef that meets their specification,” Mr
Forster added.
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