The board of Bord Bia will meet this week to discuss the controversy over its chairperson and his business' use of beef from Brazil in its supply chains.

Bord Bia chairperson Larry Murrin is the CEO of Dawn Farm Foods, which last week confirmed that some of its beef is sourced from Brazil.

This has drawn criticism from farm organisations, who have called for a meeting of the board.

A spokesperson for Bord Bia has confirmed that a meeting of the board will take place tomorrow (Thursday, January 22).

The spokesperson's statement said: "Over the last 24 hours, Bord Bia chairman Larry Murrin has been in dialogue with members of the board.

"A meeting of the board has been called for Thursday," the statement added.

One of the farm organisation leaders who was calling for a meeting of the board was Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman, who said the decision to call the meeting is the correct one.

"This is a very concerning issue, and the proper place to have a discussion is with the chairman and the board of directors," Gorman said.

According to Gorman, Murrin wrote to all Bord Bia board members yesterday (Tuesday, January 20), but did not address the request for a meeting at that time.

Gorman said he then wrote back to the chairperson "insisting that an emergency meeting be convened".

The farm organisation leader said: "I am conscious that I have responsibilities as a board member and the correct forum to address this issue with the chair and the other directors is at a board meeting.

"However, I am also conscious of my responsibilities as an elected representative of farmers who are the bedrock of what Bord Bia does," he added.

The IFA president said that farmers have to meet "exhaustive and stringent" requirements under Bord Bia's Quality Assurance schemes, adding that "without farmers confidence, Bord Bia cannot do its job".