Sanitary-veterinary inspectors seized more than six tonnes of frozen beef, originating from intra-community trade and import, during a control action carried out between January 8 and 10, 2023, the National Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) informs on Thursday.
According to a press release of the ANSVSA sent to AGERPRES, the inspectors carried out a blitz control action at 29 cold storage spaces authorized for intra-community exchanges in Giurgiu, Ilfov counties, and Bucharest.
The main aspect pursued was the detection of possible illegal practices in freezing the meat, for which the manufacturer established on the label that it is marketed refrigerated, which is sometimes done close to the end of the validity period, told Agerpres.
ANSVSA inspectors argue that this method, contrary to the law, is used to extend the shelf life of the product (another label with information on frozen meat is applied, with a different shelf life) and, often, to hide the changes in the organoleptic properties of meat.
At the same time, the hygiene conditions, the compliance of the accompanying documents, the validity period, the maintenance of the thermal storage regime, the assurance of traceability, the labeling and marking of the products were also checked.
Thus, ANSVSA inspectors discovered several batches of frozen beef, originating from intra-community trade, which had been imported into EU member states from third countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, USA) in a refrigerated state and frozen in EU cold storages, with the change of the validity period given by the manufacturer.
The main non-conformities found were the double labeling of the products (in addition to the manufacturer's label, another label was applied after the change in the thermal state of the product through freezing) and the lack of product traceability.
For the detected irregularities, 20 sanctions were applied, in the amount of 245,000 RON, and 6,098 kg of beef was officially seized.
In this context, ANSVSA ordered the expansion of official controls on this topic at the national level.
The institution mentions that the misleading or fraudulent practices identified during official controls are entered into the AAC platform (Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System), a system used at the European Union level to exchange information on cross-border violations of food chain rules.
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