Pawel Niemczuk said about 2,500 kilograms of the meat was exported to Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Romania, Sweden, France, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia.
Representational Pic
Thousands of pounds of meat from sick cows who were slaughtered illegally in Poland were exported to 10 other European Union countries, the country's top veterinary official said on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pawel Niemczuk said about 2,500 kilograms of the meat was exported to Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Romania, Sweden, France, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia.
Meat from sick cows also went to 20 sales locations in Poland but hassince been recalled, he said.
The announcement follows the recent airing of an undercover report by private broadcaster TVN that documented sick cows being slaughtered in violation of the law in the northeastern Polish town of Ostrow Mazowiecka.
No veterinarians were present for the slaughter although the meat was marked as having followed that required legal procedure.
Louise Nyholm of Sweden's National Food Agency said small quantities of the meat had been sold to four companies in Sweden, and called it "a serious violation of food law and totally unacceptable."
The agency said authorities in EU countries to which the meat was exported were alerted.
Officials in Finland said some 250 kilograms of Polish meat suspected to be from sick cows ended up in the country. Food safety officials were investigating whether any of that meat has been sold in local stores.
Meanwhile, Estonia got about 350 kilograms of the meat but none ended up in stores, officials there said.
The Polish veterinary inspectorate stripped the slaughterhouse of permission to operate earlier this week.
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
