Moscow - Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Oversight Service thinks it is necessary to recertify European Union companies that ship prepared meat products to Russia as horsemeat has been found in a shipment of franks from Austria.
“We will hold negotiations today with the head of Austria’s veterinary service, Ulrich Herzog and the deputy director general of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health & Consumers, Ladislav Miko. We will ask to recertify all European enterprises that are on the list of suppliers of finished products to Russia,” the head of the Russian food safety watchdog, Sergei Dankvert told Interfax.
He said experience has shown that the guarantees that European veterinary services have given for the certification of their companies to export to Russia are not valid. “This is shown by cases of violations of Russian veterinary and sanitary standards, including the latest case with horsemeat,” Dankvert said.
“We understand perfectly that ground meat is not made with tenderloin, even horse tenderloin, but with various trimmings, for example from the head, flank, and judging by everything all this is not controlled. And we are concerned that the veterinary services of EU countries gave safety guarantees for all this,” Dankvert said. “Guarantees can’t be secured by words, they can only be secured with actions,” he added.
He said his agency began conducting DNA tests of imported products as of February 16. Some 125 shipments of finished products from Austria, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia and Ukraine are being analyzed at customs in the Moscow area.
The Veterinary Oversight Service found horse DNA in a shipment of franks shipped to Russia by the company Landhof from Austria. The company has lost the right to ship its products to Russia and other Customs Union countries.
