HUP: Imported food must be better controlled, we will also seek a conversation with Minister Tolušić

The Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) announced on Wednesday that imported food must be better controlled and monitored, and that domestic producers and importers must meet the same criteria, which is currently not the case.

The Association of the Food Industry and Agriculture within HUP “believes that the new case of imported food products infected with salmonella indicates the need to reassess the procedures for monitoring and controlling the safety and quality of food products placed on the Croatian market, as well as the effectiveness of the information system regarding problematic products,” the statement reads.

It is reminded that with the accession to the European Union, the Croatian market has been further opened to the import of food products, which has been additionally supported by the expansion of foreign retail chains in the Croatian market.

“It is indisputable that as an EU member we must allow access to our market, but at the same time, respecting the rules and obligations of the Union, we must take care of the protection of domestic production and the safety and health of Croatian citizens. Domestic producers and those who are importers must meet the same criteria, which is currently not the case,” emphasizes the Association of the Food Industry and Agriculture within HUP.

“From 2006 to this year, chicken imports have increased by almost 30 percent. Last year, as much as 39 percent of poultry meat and products were imported. The quality and monitoring criteria for domestic products and those from imports must be the same. We are witnessing that often imported goods are sold at very low or even dumping prices – this is not only a problem for domestic producers but also for domestic consumers, Croatian citizens. An extremely low price usually means low quality, and when it comes to food, it can also be dangerous for health,” stated the president of the Association, Goran Pajnić, as quoted in the statement.

HUP announces that it will request a meeting with Minister of Agriculture Tomislav Tolušić to open discussions on the possibilities for improving the overall monitoring system for the quality and safety of imported food products present in the Croatian market.

“We are satisfied with the quick reaction of the minister who has taken concrete steps towards the responsible parties in this latest case and we believe that he will be ready to take further steps to prevent the recurrence of such situations,” says Pajnić.

Tolušić requested the dismissal of assistant Kiš

Minister Tolušić on Wednesday assessed that the Ministry acted according to the law in the case of chicken and duck meat infected with salmonella, as reported by today’s press, but that it should have reacted faster and requested the dismissal of the assistant minister for veterinary affairs, Tomislav Kiš, whom he blames for the fact that the public, including himself, did not learn about the infected chicken sooner.

According to today’s Jutarnji list, the public was not timely informed about the infected meat because by the time the findings were ready, the product had expired and was no longer on the market. This, writes Jutarnji list, opens the possibility that the disputed goods were on the market while waiting for the findings and that citizens purchased and consumed them.

“I only learned about the salmonella case yesterday; that information came to me from the newspapers, instead of from the services from which it should have come,” Tolušić said in a statement to reporters in the Croatian Parliament.

The minister says that Kiš “generally acted according to procedures,” but did not inform his superior. “I think we have nothing to discuss about that. I believe that I, as the main and responsible person in the Ministry, should have known about it on November 2, if not even earlier,” emphasized the Minister of Agriculture.

He agrees that the public should have known about the salmonella earlier, as some of the infected products may have remained in citizens’ refrigerators.

Tolušić also explained that Croatian meat is controlled daily with “one hundred” inspections and is convinced that the meat of Croatian producers is definitely health-safe.

“We know how we control it, and for imports, we cannot know, but we can strengthen the control,” Tolušić said and added: “Let’s buy Croatian, because we are safer here, we know what we are doing and what we produce.”