Fraudulent Polish meat: FNSEA calls for "buying French"

"There is terrible commercial fraud," said Radio Europe 1 Christiane Lambert, president of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA), saying that she is "revolted to see that commercial circuits like that still exist".Several countries of the European Union, including France, seek since Friday to locate, to prevent consumption and destroy it, fraudulent beef from Poland, resulting from an illegal slaughter and almost three tonneswere exported to the EU.

In France, health services have discovered nearly 800 kg of this meat which according to Warsaw does not present any health risk.Of these 800 kg, 500 kg were destroyed, 150 kg had been sold to consumers, in the butcher's shop in particular, and 150 kg are still sought by the authorities.The butchers concerned have set up posters to warn their customers, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday evening, which notes that mass distribution is "at this stage" not concerned.

"It is completely abnormal that operators, to gain earning more, bring in un safety like these," said Ms. Lambert.She called for the vigilance of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Health Authorities, while referring responsibility to the choices of consumers."If the consumer demands French meat in out-of-home catering, in supermarkets and his butcher, we will no longer see these fraudulent commercial flows", she said.

According to Warsaw, no health risk

According to Warsaw, however, the meat in question does not present a risk to the health of consumers.The Ostroleka prosecution, northeast of Poland, announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation into the slaughter and marketing of sick cattle by a local slaughterhouse, following a television report by a journalist from theprivate TVN24 television that had been hired on this site.The survey revealed that merchants offered in classified ads to buy sick cows, for a price much lower than that of healthy animals.Images of TVN24 showed that cows appearing very weakened were killed at night in the slaughterhouse in question, thus escaping the official veterinary checks carried out by day.According to the Polish veterinary inspection, 2.7 tonnes of this meat were sold in thirteen member countries of the European Union -Germany, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden--, while 7 tonnes were distributed in twenty points of sale in Poland.

A "deception" for the Minister of Agriculture

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The Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume indicated on Friday morning that 795 kg had been bought by "nine companies" in the agrifood sector in France, considering on CNews that they had been "duped".The departmental departments in charge of the protection of populations (DDPP) conducted the survey in the nine targeted establishments, which "for the most part exercise only a trading activity without handling meats" according to the ministry.The ministry said it was aware of the scandal "by the press", before having been informed by the European alert network (RASFF) of the extent of the problem.

"It's terrible fraud, economic fraud, a health fraud from a Polish slaughterhouse," said the French minister."I undertake to inform in complete transparency of the progress of the investigations.The speed with which the investigations are carried out underlines the effectiveness of our traceability and health control system in France, "he said on Friday evening, quoted in a press release.

The European Health and Food Security Commissioner Vytenis Andiukaitis announced an inspection in Poland next week and called on the Polish authorities to ensure compliance with European standards.According to Polish Minister of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski who recognized fraud, it is an "isolated incident"."We are dealing with a pathology: on a site, sick cows were slaughtered without the knowledge and without the green light of the veterinarians," he told the TVP info public channel.From 80% to 90% of Polish beef meat production are exported, especially to other European Union countries.

In France, the association of UFC Que Choisir consumer has requested that "products, products and lots are revealed" products and products possibly concerned and recommended to consumers during their purchases of beef -based products (cooked dishes, pastaand sauces containing meat, canned...), to "favor those explicitly mentioning the specific country of origin in the list of ingredients (excluding Poland), rather than those who use the opaque + UE + (European Union)" mention ".Stressing that the health alert concerns 13 EU countries, the NGO Foodwatch criticized "the opacity" of food scandals for consumers.