Arguments on the merits of organic over mainstream food production did nothing to inspire consumer confidence and reflected badly on the entire food chain, Dr Patrick Wall, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority, said yesterday.

At the Organic Farmers and Growers Association annual conference in Killarney, he said the promotion of organic produce by implying that all non-organic produce were unsafe was not the way forward. The different sectors had to co-exist, but be believed the organic sector could help establish Ireland as a centre for excellent food. "If we are to compete effectively at home and abroad, we need to differentiate our products in the marketplace," he said. He warned, however, of the "need to be able to substantiate any claims we make about our products being of higher quality".

Production subsidies should not favour one sector of food production over the other, and Mr Wall hoped the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy would rectify and correct imbalances in the system where the emphasis had been on quantity rather than quality.