Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn is looking for Cork City Council to lead the way in transforming the way Cork food and indeed Irish food is promoted. The Fianna Fail councillor believes that in order to increase the sales of indigenous made food there should be one generic food label to show that the produce is of Irish origin. Cllr O’Flynn argues that ‘At the moment there is up to five different labels on products indicating that they are sourced or produced in Ireland. What I am proposing is that all these brands would come under one standard label to make it easier for shoppers to locate Irish owned brands and above support indigenous businesses.’
Cllr O’Flynn said this is something that both consumers and shop owners would react positively to. O’Flynn points out that ‘Research has shown that consumers much prefer this option and are much more likely to buy Irish brands when there is one single, clear, colour coded label to show this’
‘I am aware of the knock on effect this would have for maintaining employment in the City. For every Irish produce on the shelf there is a minimum of five jobs being supported. This can be traced from start to finish, from the making of the product, to the packaging and delivering, to person who stocks it on the shelves.’
According to the Northside Councillor the groundwork has already been laid for such a program ‘A number of successful pilot schemes in Dublin and Cork have already been carried out. I have placed a motion before Cork City Council asking them to support this initiative and get as many super markets involved in Cork as possible. Furthermore I want to see Cork City Council launch an annual campaign to promote both Irish food and encourage shoppers to shop locally.’
Last year the Food and Agricultural sector contributed €24 billion to the national economy and employed more than 150, 000 people with further growth expected into 2012. The Northside councillor concluded ‘We have some of the best food in the world, it is time we start using it to all our advantages.’