Frequently Asked Questions

Origin of Beef

Q. What is the Health (Country of Origin of Beef) Regulations 2006?

A. The Health (Country of Origin of Beef) Regulations, 2006, came into force on 3rd July 2006 and are intended primarily for the catering and food service sector. The regulations mean that restaurants and other catering establishments must communicate to the consumer, information on the country of origin of beef.

Q. What does it mean for the consumer?

A. Consumers should now be able to see a statement on the country of origin in premises selling beef. It is in the interests of consumers, whether purchasing beef over the counter or choosing beef in restaurants and catering establishments, to be given information on the origin of the product.

Q. What food businesses are covered?

A. The Regulations relate to caterers, who are food business operators. For the purpose of these Regulations, caterers include:
• hotels
• restaurants
• public houses providing food
• sandwich bars
• canteens
• healthcare establishments
• catering service providers
• takeaway food service outlets, including supermarket deli counters
• other catering establishments that provide prepared beef directly to the final consumer

Q. What types of products are covered?

A. In the Regulations, ‘prepared beef’ means beef, within the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities (Labelling of Beef and Beef Products) Regulations, 2002 (S.I. No. 485 of 2002), which has been cooked or otherwise prepared for human consumption in the caterer's establishment and also beef which has been
bought into the establishment already cooked.

This includes:
• beef brought into the food business as fresh and frozen cuts of beef (including mince) and cooked or otherwise prepared in the establishment and served to customers; and

• beef cuts (including mince) bought into the food business already cooked and subsequently served to customers.

Q. Give me examples of types of beef served to which these requirements do apply?

A. Examples include but are not limited to:
• Whole joints or cuts of beef, such as roast beef and steak whether cooked
by the caterer or not
• Beef and minced beef dishes made on site by the caterer, such as cottage pie, meat loaf, spaghetti bolognese, chili con carne, lasagne, beef pies, stir fry
• 99% beef burgers bought in ready prepared and all beef burgers made on site by the caterer
• Beef kebabs prepared on site
• Roast beef in sandwiches, baguettes, etc. prepared on site
• Steak pie prepared on site

Q. Give me examples of types of beef serviced to which the requirements do not apply?

A. examples include but are not limited to:
• Fresh, cured and dried beef sausages
• Corned beef/spiced beef
• Beef dishes and minced beef dishes bought in by the caterer in a pre-prepared state, e.g. lasagne, beef pies, stir fry beef
• Beef burgers (that are less than 99% beef)
• Beef in sandwiches, baguettes, etc. which are delivered to the caterer pre-made

Q. What is the definition of country of origin?

A. “country of origin” shall include all those countries in which the animal was born, reared for slaughtered as referred to in Article 13 of the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of 17 July 2000.

Q What information must be provided to the consumer?

A. The information provided must include the country or countries if here is more than one in which the animal was born reared (fattened) and slaughtered.
For example:
• if the beef is from animals born, reared and slaughtered in the same
country, the name of the country is sufficient, e.g. “All steak in our restaurant
is of Irish origin”
• if the beef is from animals where the country of birth, country of rearing or the country where slaughter took place is different, the information must specify the different countries involved, e.g. “The minced beef in this establishment is from animals born in France, reared in France and slaughtered in Ireland”

Q. What if the food business is receiving beef from more than one source?

A. Where beef from more than one source is supplied to the food business, the origin information for all beef must be provided, e.g. if a caterer is supplied with beef from two countries (where it was born, reared and slaughtered in the same country) the information could be given as “The origin of the beef steak, minced beef and beef in pies in this establishment is Ireland and France”

However, where the caterer is supplied with beef from more than one source and there are different countries of birth, rearing and slaughter, all the information for each must be provided, e.g. “Beef served in this establishment is from two sources. Country of origin of roast beef: Ireland and origin of steak: born in Belgium, raised in France, slaughtered in France”.

Where the beef is from more than one source, the Regulations do not stipulate that the origin information must be specific to each item on the menu, but it is recommended good practice that where the information is specified on the menu, that it be provided beside each dish.

Q. How should this information be presented by the caterer?

A. The caterer must provide the country/countries of origin information to the customer in at least one of the following ways:

• on the menu presented to the customer
• as a clearly visible sign/board in the window/door/outside of the premises
• as a clearly visible sign/board inside the establishment.

Regardless of the manner the establishment chooses to display the country of origin information, the information must be clearly visible and legible to the consumer. The Regulations require that the information is in ‘clear legible type’. This means that in all cases, that the information concerned is clearly legible and in the case of print, the size of the lettering used must be at least font size 12 point.

Any advertisement referring to beef sold in the establishment must also provide information on the country of origin.

Q What documentation must be retained by the caterer?

A. The Regulations require that traceability information validating the country of origin information must be retained for at least two years. This information must be available to Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) on request.

Q. Enforcement

A. Enforcement of the Regulations is carried out by Environmental Health Officers of the Health Service Executive (HSE): http://www.fsai.ie/publications/leaflets/beef_labelling.pdf