The plaintiff, the meat industry, will easily prove the damage caused by reports about problematic imported meat. It is up to the defendant, or the publishers, to prove that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the information in the news was accurate and that they took all necessary measures to verify its accuracy.
The latest Croatian affair broke out last week regarding the alleged import of meat and meat products that are ten years old or more, which are poisoning the Croatian people. The entire construction boils down to the fact that unscrupulous importers buy for a small amount abroad what has been prepared there (for various reasons, from age onwards) for the landfill and then sell it as fresh meat in our country. Thus, (if the claims are accurate) not only are people poisoned, but Croatian production is also destroyed due to unmarketably low prices. Those making such claims refer to an (anonymous to the public) expert source ‘from within’, while those accused by such claims defend themselves by stating that it is not true and cannot be true; they are supported by the relevant ministry, which also argues that the chapter in the negotiations related to agriculture, which includes the standards that meat and meat products must meet, has been ‘successfully closed’ and that all European standards apply and are respected here. More in the new issue of Lider by Prof. Dr. Hrvoje Kačer.
