The Irish Farmers' Association last night asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, to test all beef to prove it was BSE-free, writes Sean MacConnell, Agricultural Correspondent.
The farm organisation has been convinced that such a guarantee for consumers of Irish beef is the only way of protecting Ireland's £1.5 billion beef export business. Last night's discussions centred on who would pay for the additional one million tests a year.
Since beef from a BSE-infected French herd was found in a supermarket, beef consumption has plummeted there, disrupting Ireland's 50,000 tonne share of that market.
News yesterday that Spain has reported its first two cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is likely to hit Irish exports there.
The chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dr Patrick Wall, has advised the industry to offer meat which has passed a BSE test to customers, and said the crisis offered Ireland a real opportunity to market BSE-free beef abroad.
An Enfer test can detect the disease in slaughtered animals at a cost of around £18 per beast. The test can be verified within an hour of slaughter.