Where does our food come from?
While more food is produced on the island of Ireland than is imported, research conducted as part of a safefood review showed that consumers are more concerned about food imports, particularly those from outside of the EU. The review therefore focuses on the food supply chain for foods from outside the island of Ireland. It explores key issues such as food imports, local food economies, food safety, food import control, nutrition, labelling, organic production, and environmental issues such as carbon footprinting and food miles.
Food imports from EU and non-EU countries are necessary for economic reasons, seasonality, trade and because of consumer demand. The total food imports were valued at €4.6 billion (£4.2 billion) in the Republic of Ireland in 2007 and €502 million (£460 million) in Northern Ireland. A large amount of these imports included fruit, cereals and vegetables from non-EU countries such as Costa Rica and South Africa. Meat and dairy produce are mostly imported from within the EU.
Forty three per cent of consumers on the island of Ireland were concerned about the quality of food imported from within the EU, whereas 54 per cent were concerned about the quality of imported foods from non-EU countries. Consumers were most concerned about the origins of their meat and fish. Among those who expressed concern the main food safety concerns with imported foods were poor production standards and regulations, the quality of imported foods and the perception that the further food travels, the greater the risk of contamination. However while consumers expressed concern about many food issues, including food origin, production methods and ‘Fairtrade’, currently price is the most important factor predicting food purchasing behaviour.
Report: Find out more about the origins of food on the island of Ireland in our consumer focused review of the food chain, "Where does our food come from?"
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