On food safety, once again
A fresh case of horsemeat products marketed as beef raises new questions on food safety in Europe.
Bogdan Matei, 01.11.2013, 13:38
Just months after the Europe-wide horsemeat lasagna scandal, a new fraud raises questions on the continent’s food industry. Two British foodstuff suppliers withdrew a lot of canned beef produced in Romania, which contained horsemeat not identified as such on the product label, Radio Romania’s correspondent in London reports.
In Bucharest, the head of the National Food Safety and Animal Health Agency, Vladimir Manastireanu, says the problem has to do with the product price alone, given that horsemeat is both healthier and less expensive than beef. He announced the producer has been identified and promised harsh measures:
Vladimir Manastireanu: “The business operators may receive drastic fines, of up to 12,000 euros, and if veterinary physicians or other personnel are found guilty of fraud, they may be sentenced to time in prison.”
The president of the Romanian Meat Association, Sorin Minea, says in all previous cases Romanian producers proved they were not the source of the mislabeled horsemeat, and explains:
Sorin Minea: “Every lot that comes out of a slaughtering unit carries a stamp that guarantees it has been checked. If anyone forges that stamp, attempting to commit fraud, they will have a problem.”
This summer, in the wake of the so-called Lasagna Scandal, large-scale inspections were conducted across the EU, revealing outrageous fraud cases, in a field where consumers’ health and well-being is at stake.
