While we in the egg sector would be the firs to acknowledge that the sector is small, we felt, particularly in the light of having sent you comments for the Report, that the sector would have warranted more than the passing reference on page 30, and then only in association with poultry.

While egg grading and packing operations continue to rationalise to meet competitive challenges from imports every bit as grave as those facing the poultry sector, the egg sector as a whole has attempted to meet the challenges in another way, and that way is by pursuing the goal of achieving a very high level of safety. The Egg Quality Assurance Scheme (EQAS) seeks to do that.

Although the Egg Quality Assurance Scheme, as it were, "the new kid on the block", we had the particular advantage in arriving late to be able to involve the FASI in our endeavours from the start. The EQAS offers a public health as well as an animal health dimension, thus making it distinctive.

The EQAS fills a particular niche in the retail market and EQAS participants are rewarded for the extra costs in delivering safety. The aim is to target all the other segments of the market (catering, institutions, etc.) and gradually to strengthen overall market position on the domestic scene. Niche export markets will be targeted. This method of adding value (in this case safety) to the product offers a real alternative to low cost imports. Allied to the sectoral endeavours are strong promotion measures by An Bord Bia and full support from the FSAI.

Although scale is important, safety is pre-eminent in this competitive quality strategy.

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