Belgium reported on Monday that meat products with counterfeit labels were exported from a slaughterhouse in the south of the country to at least three countries as part of a widespread food export fraud.
Hong Kong, Ivory Coast, and Kosovo imported meat distributed by the food company Veviba by the end of 2016, including products with altered freezing dates, reported the Belgian food safety agency Afsca.
>>>The Netherlands Discusses Video Surveillance of All Slaughterhouses
‘Mafia Methods’
Agriculture Minister Denis Ducarme accused Veviba of using ‘mafia methods’ in meat distribution.
The Afsca report states that the mentioned three countries have been informed about this issue.
>>>‘Business’ of Meat Production to Be Taken Over by Plants
The case has caused a minor scandal in Belgium given several major food frauds in Europe in recent years.
Last year, panic spread among consumers, and producers were forced to destroy millions of eggs after it was found that products delivered to 45 countries, including from 26 EU countries, were contaminated with the insecticide fipronil.
