Northern Ireland puts poultry marketing rules on hold

The Northern Ireland minister of agriculture has called for a 12-month delay in implementing the new poultry meat marketing rules to give the industry more time.

The Minister of Agriculture, Michelle Gildernew recently met a small group of Fermanagh-based poultry producers to discuss new EU rules which extend the scope of the poultry meat marketing legislation to include poultry meat preparations.

The new rules will prohibit the sale of poultry preparations made from previously frozen poultry meat in the chilled state (unfrozen). It will affect peak demand products such as turkey portions and BBQ in particular. UK practises building stocks of these products throughout the year by using super-chill freezing technology and releasing them for sale as seasonal demand grows.

Following the meeting, the Minister said: "I was keen to hear directly the concerns of poultry growers on the ground and discuss the challenges that they face within their poultry farm businesses. From the outset, I have been in favour of this legislation, which is part of an EU drive to improve consumer information.''

However, it would cause initial disruption to local producers. Thus, request has been made to the Commission to consider a 12-month delay in allowing for preparation. But, the Commission has ruled this out confirming that the new legislation will take effect in May 2010 across Europe.

Without any delay, the minister added that officials are instructed to look at the available financial support to the poultry industry and will carefully consider any recommendations.