A DEPARTMENT of Agriculture official has clarified matters after a retired Scottish vet took umbrage, believing his impounded haggis puddings had been labelled as ‘dog food’.
No, said the Department, the term ‘Food Dog’ on the seizure notice was not customs officials disparaging the iconic national dish of Scotland!
It was a reference to the use of a sniffer dog in the detection of meat products imported into Ireland from outside the EU.
The non-arrival of the three tins of haggis that Ian and Jeannie Stretch had ordered for their Burns Night celebrations in Bantry, meant the couple had to resort to serving their guests Clonakilty Blackpudding – a product that has yet to be named Ireland’s national dish!
‘Where a person, or a business, seeks to import meat products into Ireland from outside the EU, without the required official controls, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Irish Customs work collaboratively to seize and destroy those products,’ said the Department spokesperson.
The reason for the controls, he explained, is ‘to mitigate risk to public or animal health.’
The spokesperson confirmed that in January of this year, ‘the Department and Customs intercepted products described as haggis and destined to [sic] a person in Co Cork, which had not been notified and presented to a border control post for appropriate checks, as required under legislation.
‘It appears that a reference on the seizure notice to the use of the Food Dog (sniffer dog) in the identification of food in these consignments within the sorting centre has been misinterpreted by the recipient as a reference to dog food,’ the spokesperson added.
At the time, the retired vet and his wife considered launching a campaign to ‘free the haggis’ from Customs, with Ian proclaiming – his tongue firmly in cheek – ‘something must be done to free these haggises and prevent an international incident.’
