Three tonnes of meat seized in Polish horse DNA probe
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
27.02.2013 12:28
Three tonnes of meat have been seized from a processing plant in the Polish province of Silesia, after Czech inspectors identified horse meat in beefburgers that allegedly came from a Polish supplier.
Photo: Glowimages
“Poland is open to tests concerning food quality,” Minister of Agriculture Stanislaw Kalemba insisted on Wednesday in an interview with public television channel TVP1.
Kalemba noted that in spite of previous accusations, “time has shown that up until now, Poland has been able to clear itself from these allegations.”
But regarding the current checks, he acknowledged that he was “particularly interested in the results of the inspections,” stressing that “today there is no country in Europe that is outside the circle of suspicion.”
He argued that the international problem of mixing horse meat with beef could be the result of “mafia dealings based on earning large amounts of money.”
On Monday, Czech meat distributor Bidvest told thenews.pl that pre-fried beefburgers bought from Polish supplier FVZ Deli Meat contained horse meat.
Tests are currently being carried out on samples of meat taken from the Silesian processing plant.
Beata Kowalewska, spokesperson for Silesia's Regional Veterinary Inspectorate, based in the city of Katowice, has told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the results of the tests are expected over the coming days.
She also noted that besides the meat, documents concerning the purchase of food products had also been taken. (nh)