Supermarket giant Aldi has been criticised after it came to light that chicken breast slices sold as part of their “Specially Selected” range with “Made in Ireland” labelling actually originated in another part of the EU.

The label on the back of the packet reads: "Made in Ireland using EU chicken."

The issue came to light in a tweet.

@Aldi_Ireland @farmersjournal @IFAmedia @RyanTubridyShow Really disappointed to see Aldi using “Made in Ireland” to make it look like an Irish product when in fact it’s EU chicken used. Could you tell me is it Latvian, polish or German meat being used? Tighter regulation on this pic.twitter.com/ZsYqCauVmI
— Mairt (@Martinr279) April 2, 2019

An Aldi spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Our Specially Selected Carved Roast Chicken Breast Slices product is cooked, roasted, expertly carved and packed in Tullamore, Co Offaly by Carroll’s Cuisine.

“All products we sell are correctly labelled and comply with all relevant regulations.

“As stated on its packaging, the product is made using chicken sourced within the EU.”

Labelling issues

This is the latest in a slew of labelling issues which has seen concerns flourish over products sold by SuperValu and Denny’s.

Irish farmers are concerned that the “green” image of Irish produce is being hijacked by brands who use a loophole in labelling laws to market food as produced in Ireland, when it is not actually Irish in origin.

When a similar issue arose with Dutch chicken sold by Denny’s which carried a “produced in Ireland” label, a number of farmers protested outside Denny owners, Kerry Foods in Co Wicklow.

Loophole in country of origin labelling must be resolved – IFA

Kerry boss committed to sourcing local chicken

Aldi criticised over ‘Made in Ireland’ brand

It has come to light that chicken products with Irish labelling may have originated in another part of the EU.