AQW 586/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 26/05/2022
Answered On Date: 07/07/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of foie gras.

Answer:

While the production of Foie Gras has been illegal in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland for many years it is not currently illegal to import it into the UK.

The import of foie Gras cannot be banned in Northern Ireland as under the terms of the EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol, NI must legally adhere to the Official Controls Regulation 2017/625 (OCR). Without the EU introducing measures to ban imports of foie gras the product could still enter Northern Ireland legally.