Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Not Good Neigh

Who's now in prison for the European adulterated horsemeat scandal uncovered early 2013?  (link) How many millions of euro in fines have been paid?

Surely not enough was done as penalty. Spanghero? Findus? ICA? The "own label" producers traded trust for quick profits & should be fined heavily. They're more than ignorant retailers - with their logo and name on the box they share guilt. Super cheap raw materials - too good to be true - discarded veterinary critters? Stray dogs & cats? Food suppliers can't be trusted!

Of course, if the now-secret Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP is implemented, such adulterated European meats will also flow to America; we in Europe will be exposed when the US food supply becomes tainted through mislabeling or fraud. American food fraud is huge: seafood, honey and cooking oils are often (or reportedly more often than not) deliberately adulterated or mislabeled. Efforts to publicize food scams, such as via a "Food Fraud Database" - don't yet deliver easily understandable information. The US Food & Drug Administration, FDA operates with minimal budget to protect consumer food supplies, but some products (beef, chicken, eggs, etc.) are policed by the US Department of Agriculture, USDA. We're lucky if fraud's uncovered - the regulating & inspection agencies are grossly understaffed.


Part of the deterrent is to publicize the crime, consequences and penalties.

Dutch wholesaler Willy Selten may have sold as much as 50,000 tons of adulterated meat (link). Spanghero changed its name to "La Lauragaise" and reportedly is back in business. Other adulteration schemes no doubt operate now. This huge scam was more than a bit of bother. Without penalties? All quickly forgotten by consumer sheeple...
Must we eat shit or worse...   Mortuary meats?