Horsemeat in fillet form detected in Greece!

 

A few days ago two loads containing horsemeat in frozen form from Romania were found in refrigerators and seized at the port of Piraeus. Similar loads were also located in the freezers of the authorities, while the seized quantities so far reach 18 tons according to Yorgos Lechouritis, EFET board member and Consumer Institute president.

 

The existence of this new load became known after the publication of a letter from the Development ministry, which informs the regional authorities about the food scandal. Of course it all began on Feb. 13 after the scandal with horsemeat and product recalls by the Findus and Comigel companies erupted in Europe.

 

"Since February 12 I have been asking the EFET president to tell me what he's done, how he is proceeding at the level of inspections and whether they have sampled products on the market" said Lechouritis, and added that he would have been covered had he known that EFET took 100 samples from the market; "instead we are faced with silence in the sense of us being in control of the market."

 

However, questions also arise about the EFET press release on February 21, which shows that the results of the sampling, which will take place after a recommendation from the EU, are scheduled for April 15. This quite naturally raises many questions, like for example how will the consumers know what they are consuming until then?

 

Then, Lechouritis revealed that horsemeat products are marketed in frozen form as beef or veal. "They are taken by the cold cuts industry, mixed with other types of meat and passed on to the market in the form of sausages, salamis etc. Certainly this is not only a clear-cut issue of misleading the consumers, but also a safety issue. These meats, according to the EU Health Commissioner, are handled by a gang who purchased horses from slaughterhouses in Romania," Lechouritis concluded.