Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) officials seized almost 300kg of dairy, meat and plant products at Shannon Airport last year.

The department said that in order to maintain the integrity of the agri-food chain in the EU, various important checks and systems have been established.

Border Control Posts (BCPs) are designated entry points to the EU market through which animals and consignments of food and food contact materials that are subject to increased checks must enter the EU.

Shannon Airport is among the BCPs that check food products, along with Dublin Port, Dublin Airport and Rosslare Europort.

Shannon Airport

In a parliamentary question, Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney asked Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon the amount of food products seized from both cargo and passenger terminals at Shannon Airport.

Minister Heydon outlined that a total of 293.6kg of products were seized at the airport last year, as follows:

Milk and milk products: 102.5kg;
Other products of animal origin: 4kg;
Other meat: 94kg;
Pork and pork products: 58kg;
Poultry and poultry products: 35kg;
Plant and plant products: 0.1kg.

Up to February 4 this year, the minister said 24kg of products had been seized by officials, the majority of which were meat products.