A total of 795 kilograms (over 1,700 pounds) of meat from extremely sick cows originating from an illegal Polish slaughterhouse have been exported to France, French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume said on Friday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2019) A total of 795 kilograms (over 1,700 pounds) of meat from extremely sick cows originating from an illegal Polish slaughterhouse have been exported to France, French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume said on Friday.
Last week, Poland's TVN24 broadcaster aired a video showing visibly sick cows being smuggled into a slaughterhouse near the town of Ostrow Mazowiecka in northeast Poland and killed for their meat. Around 2.5 tonnes of suspect meat have been exported to and sold in almost a dozen countries, Polish Chief Veterinary Officer Pawel Niemczuk said on Thursday.
"This is a terrible fraud with regard to finances and health code violations," Guillaume told the CNews broadcaster, adding that 795 kilograms were delivered to France and ended up in nine enterprises.
Around 150 kilograms of meat have already been confiscated, and the authorities are trying to locate the remainder, according to the minister.
"We do not know if it is on the market already. It could still be in cold storage," Guillaume noted.
Slovakian Veterinary and food Administration chief Jozef Bires has said three local companies were confirmed to have bought some 660 Pounds of meat from the Polish slaughterhouse in question and distributed it to schools and restaurants. The official slammed the Polish meat guarantee system for "failing again." At the same time, Slovak Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna said the meat was also sold to Hungary, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
Estonia's Veterinary and Food board, a state agency under the Agriculture Ministry, has said the beef had been delivered to two meat processing plants but was promptly identified and removed from the production line on Wednesday after getting a notice from Poland.
