Together with the police, the Polish food authorities have taken action in order to close the illegal operations of the slaughterhouse which has been slaughtering unhealthy cows. The operations of the slaughterhouse located in the Mazovia area have been found to be illegal, and the persons guilty of criminal activities are under investigation by the police. The unhealthy animals found in the slaughterhouse have been put down in accordance with proper procedures.
An account of the incident, the Polish authorities have made the decision to carry out an inspection in all the country’s slaughterhouses together with the police. In accordance with information received by the Finnish Food Authority, the European Commission has been in close contact with the Polish authorities. Poland has been requested to share additional information with other European Union member countries via the various alert systems. The commission has required Poland to trace all meat produced in contravention of the legislation and to withdraw it from the markets with immediate effect.
The Finnish Food Authority and companies are currently investigating whether any beef has been imported to Finland from the Mazovia area in Poland.
The Finnish food authorities perform inspections on meat and meat products originating from other EU countries, such as Poland, on the bases of risk. Monitoring will be intensified, if there is reason to suspect that the imported batches would not fulfil requirements. The safety and quality of meat is first and foremost the responsibility of the food companies implementing their self-monitoring plan and quality requirements.
The Finnish Food Authority will report more on the issue after having received additional information.
For more information, please contact:
Leena Räsänen, Director of Food Safety Department, tel. +358 50 388 6518
