Horsemeat scandal continues in Baltic countries

By Vladislav Vorotnikov and Carina Perkins

- Last updated on GMT

Horsemeat scandal continues in Baltic countries

Related tags Meat processing plant Latvia Estonia Beef

Horsemeat has again been discovered in beef by-products produced in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with as much as 15% horsemeat found in some products. Previously, only traces of horse DNA had been detected in the region.

“Horsemeat was found, in particular, in Estonian sausages (10%), smoked sausage from Lithuania (9% of horsemeat), canned meat products (15.6%) and kupatas (fried sausages) produced by Lithuanian manufacturers (4%),”​ said a spokesperson from the Latvian Food and Veterinary Service.

In Lithuania, horsemeat was found in the production of meat processing plant Grimeda. Veterinary inspectors said they were currently not intending to apply any sanctions against the company.

“We are not going to implement specific sanctions. We will just inform the Lithuanian company and responsible institutions of this country, so they can conduct their own investigation. However, from now on, we will require Grimeda to ensure proper labelling of their products,”​ said Ernests Zavadskis, the head of the Department of Supervision of the Latvian Food and Veterinary Service.

Horsemeat was also was found in canned beef from Militārā kvalitāte, with investigations into this case continuing. In Estonia, meat processor Nõo has found itself at the centre of the scandal after veterinary services of the country revealed that a whole batch of products containing horsemeat had been sold to the public.

“What is important is the fact that this raw material had a good quality, and there was no risk to the health of consumers,”​ commented Nõo CEO Thomas Kruustyuk.

Kruustyuk said he could not reveal from which country his company has imported the contaminated raw materials, but he pointed out that Nõo used several suppliers and it was currently not possible to say which supplier the horsemeat came from. “Last year we had to start using imported raw materials, but 90% of our raw materials were locally produced,” he said.

Veterinary services have not excluded the possibility that the horsemeat was produced in the Baltic States, and not imported from abroad.

Greek testing

Meanwhile, the Greek food safety authorities have completed the first round of testing for horsemeat in beef and beef products. The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) said it had inspected 349 meat processing, catering, meat import, retail and foodservice facilities. Of the 288 samples taken, 36 had tested positive for horsemeat, two of which were taken from raw beef and 34 of which were taken from processed beef products.

So far, none of the samples had tested positive for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone (bute), although EFET said tests were still ongoing.

It added: “Conclusively, as an outcome of inspection activity, it was discovered that the countries of origin of the bovine raw material, responsible for the presence of horse DNA, were Romania, Poland and Italy, while the finished products – which had been imported into our country – were produced in Latvia, France, Romania and the Netherlands.”

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