Sniffer dogs may be used to help detect potentially harmful bush meats and other exotic foods being smuggled into the country in travellers' luggage.
Department of Agriculture inspectors have already undertaken trials at Dublin airport using a specially trained detector dog provided by a British professional dog handling company.
The move to intensify checks comes as the seizure of illegally imported foods rose by 17 percent last year.
While the exotic foods may be highly-prized delicacies in other countries, they are regarded as potentially dangerous sources of infection here that could introduce human and animal diseases.
A range of products from over 100 countries has been seized in recent years. The more exotic meats have included camel, monkey, antelope, snake, bat, frog and snail.
Inspectors have confiscated meats from Africa, cheese from Mongolia and smoked beef from South America.
Plant health inspectors have also discovered quantities of food crops in suitcases and some "bush herbs or medicine plants". Plants have been seized because pests were found living on them.
Searches are targeted at the luggage of people arriving from high-risk countries.
Quarantine and food inspection dogs have discovered smuggled reptiles, birds, eggs, meat and plant material.
Dogs can be trained to detect anything at all, provided that it has a scent.
A dog can check the luggage of passengers from an aircraft in about 30 minutes - up to 40 officers would be needed to do the same job in the same time.
The department spokeswoman said about two-thirds of the seizures are pig meat and about 15 per cent are cheeses. There are also quantities of beef and poultry.
Last year department inspectors checked 11,427 bags and interviewed 58,884 passengers at ports and airports. There were 565 seizures of illegal items including 2,917kg of meat products and 237kg of milk products.
In 2004, inspectors searched almost 8,500 bags and interviewed over 59,000 passengers. They made almost 720 seizures of 2,700kg of illegal foods.
The department says many people are unaware it is illegal to import the foods or that they will be seized.