Statement from TUV Leader Jim Allister:-

"As the horse meat crisis spirals ever deeper, the need to ring fence our producers from collateral damage increases.

"It is abundantly clear that whereas processors and supermarkets have much to answer, our red meat producers are blameless, yet, are at risk of severe economic damage, if farm gate prices fall in consequence of a loss of consumer confidence.

"So, I want to know what the DARD Minister intends to do to sustain the viability of this key agriculture sector?

"Our frontline farmers have borne the brunt of heavy handed inspections for years, with penalties for the least infringement, yet, it seems processors and supermarkets have been living above such constraints. This is a departmental and European failure, for which our farmers must not pay the price.

"Once the meat inspectors were withdrawn from the processing factories both the frequency and nature of inspections seem to have diminished, with Environmental Health Officers conducting mere hygiene inspections every few months, but who has been checking on the composition of meat? Herein, I believe lies one of the sources of the present crisis.