Northern Ireland’s Health Minister has said that members of the public have been left “confused” following a “lack of clarity” on the pork contamination scare.

Michael McGimpsey said that he had asked the body responsible for food safety in the UK — the Food Standards Agency (FSA) — to issue guidance urgently on whether or not retailers should remove pork products from their shelves.

“As soon as the relevant agencies have determined which, if any, products are contaminated then these products can safely be returned to shelves,” he said.

“This means that the public can have confidence that any pork products which are on shelves in our supermarkets and butchers are not contaminated.”

The FSA has advised the public not to eat any pork products or products where pork is the main ingredient, that are labelled as being from the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland.

In a statement yesterday, the agency said it was advising retailers to remove pork products manufactured from September 1, 2008, in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Speaking in the Assembly yesterday, Mr McGimpsey said: “I realise that there has been a lack of clarity about advice on the consumption of pork and pork products. In the Republic of Ireland, all pork products which originated from the Republic and from Northern Ireland have been removed from shelves.

“Yet, in Northern Ireland, initial advice from the FSA to the public here has been not to eat these products, but no formal recall notice has been sent to retailers. Despite this advice, a number of retailers have already taken the decision to remove products from their shelves until they are certain that none of them are contaminated.”

He added: “While I fully accept that the health risk to the public is low, I also feel that the public are confused about the messages they are receiving. Indeed, rather than take the risk of buying potentially contaminated pork, it is more likely they will be deterred from eating any pork products at all.

“That is why I have requested the FSA to issue urgent advice that retailers should temporarily remove any pork or pork products processed in Northern Ireland from their shelves.”

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew said tracings had been carried out yesterday on animals that were being sent to slaughter, and affected meat plants notified.

“I am very conscious of and concerned about the implications for producers and processors,” she said.

“Inevitably, processors will not want to slaughter animals when it is not clear whether or not the meat can be put forward into the food chain or what the demand from consumers will be.”

The Minister said a meeting with industry representatives would be held “in the next day or two” to discuss a way forward.

“The FSA advice is to recall and destroy pork products from the South and take northern products off the shelves, hold and investigate until more information is available. Advice to consumers remains not to consume pork produced here or in the South. The advice for retailers and wholesalers is that they should for the moment retain any pork product, thus not letting the product enter the food chain, until the Food Standards Agency determines the way forward,” she said.

“We are aware that the authorities in the South have taken pre emptive meas

ures to remove potentially contaminated product from the food chain. However, FSA consider it is premature to come to any decisions on the need for this in the North until it has more information.”

Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers placed the matter on the agenda of an Executive meeting.

First Minister Peter Robinson, said: “This is obviously a very serious situation and one which we are determined to take swift and effective action to alleviate.”

Martin McGuinness, the Deputy First Minister, said: “It is vital at this time that we focus on the twin aims of taking all necessary steps to make sure consumers are protected and that this vital sector of our agricultural industry is supported.”

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott said the pig industry in Northern Ireland was worth around £68m a year.

“The present panic with supermarkets clearing their shelves of Northern Ireland pork products will do untold damage to the industry and will be difficult to retrieve unless customers can be assured that our products are safe and free from contamination,” he said.

“We must put things into perspective — not every pig farm in Northern Ireland is affected and it is likely that the vast majority, if not all of our produce, is perfectly safe to eat.”

DUP agriculture spokesman, William McCrea said suspect farms should be isolated but factories should be allowed to source from unaffected farms and recommence processing.

He said: “It is still unclear if any contaminated feed stuffs were fed to livestock in Northern Ireland. The relevant departments should not take a broad brush approach against the vast majority of farmers who did not feed any contaminated meal to livestock.

“Rather the departments should be specific with their actions to safeguard the hundreds of jobs in the agri-food sector.”