The Aftermath of the Meat Scandal

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It has been announced that Poland will be requested to present a report on its safety regulations in the meat scandal for industry to the European Commission. The hearing will take place on the 18th of March, during a meeting of Agriculture Ministers from all EU member states. The Commission decided to summon Poland to provide explanations following the scandal that swept across European media several weeks ago, when Polish journalists revealed that a slaughterhouse in Poland was processing meat scandal of sick cows.

Polish officials are to provide information on the health safety procedures that are in place now and are going to be introduced in the near future that will guarantee that the meat scandal introduced to the EU market is safe to eat. Government bodies are to conduct immediate audit of all abattoirs in the country and educational campaigns for farmers. Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, noted that Poland needs to demonstrate that state authorities treat the issue with due seriousness.

The scandal may have large impact on Polish beef exporters and the whole Polish meat industry. Several countries have already introduced a ban on importing meat from Poland. Czech Republic authorities decided to carry out exhaustive inspections and additional reporting obligations with regard to Polish beef. What is more, Czech Ministry of Agriculture apply to other EU countries to implement similar measures, even though the European Commission requested the inspections to stop.

Meat from Poland was found, among other places, in France. Auditors discovered over 800 kilograms of beef unfit for consumption. Commenting on the scandal. French Minister of European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau spoke in favour of conducting EU food safety inspections and giving EU bodies more powers with regard to controlling the food industry.

Polish Ministry of Agriculture need to take bold measures to save the reputation of Polish meat industry. Poland  is the third biggest beef exporter in the European Union.


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