Source: Reuters – Reporting by Charlie Dunmore; editing by Rex Merrifield
New rules would force member states to impose fines equal to the financial gains from proven cases of food fraud
BRUSSELS – The European Commission proposed more unannounced inspections of food companies and tougher fines for labeling fraud on Monday, after the discovery earlier this year that millions of Europeans ate horsemeat labeled as beef.
If approved by EU governments and lawmakers, the new rules would force member states to impose fines equal to the financial gains from proven cases of food fraud, officials said.
Unidentified criminal gangs blamed for Europe’s horsemeat scandal are believed to have made huge profits by substituting millions of tons of cheap horsemeat for more expensive beef in products including meatballs and lasagne.
EU governments have in the past been reluctant to agree to minimum financial sanctions mandated by Brussels, but the Commission believes the desire to reassure consumers in the wake of the horsemeat scandal could swing the debate.
“Crime must not pay, but if the penalties are low it does pay,” EU consumer commissioner Tonio Borg told a news conference to present the plans.
Penalties for the type of labeling fraud used in the horsemeat scandal vary from state to state. A conviction in Britain may draw a jail term of up to two years, while in France the maximum penalty is a fine of 187,000 euros ($245,000).
The proposals would also force governments for the first time to carry out a minimum number of unannounced inspections on food operators, to check that the contents of their products match what is written on the label.
Europe’s horsemeat scandal broke in January when horse DNA was found in frozen burgers sold in Irish and British supermarkets. ($1 = 0.7624 euros)
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
More pressure from the EU! Good!! I am still amazed by the push to re-instate the horse slaughter plants here in the U.S. There is opposition to it everywhere between the majority of Americans wanting it to remain banned as well as the main market for it abroad working for stricter food-safety guidelines and already banning U.S. horsemeat. How is it that anyone would think that opening horse slaughter plants again in the U.S. is smart considering that it would only leave us open to our own version of the European horse meat scandal and compromise our food safety. It makes even less sense when people backing it are connected to the ag-businesses and beef producers. Talk about slapping the hand that feeds you! No one said that underhanded people with alterior motive didn’t have it coming to them. Horse karma!!
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Well good ole’ Gov Fallin of Oklahoma couldnt wait to sign the bill into law. SHe did it on a holiday she called off. Somebody is getting paid somewhere
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Only way to hurt these guys is through the wallet. They have no shame or morals so there is no way to hurt them that way. I always like the idea that they confiscate equipment too. Such as transport trucks.
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The EU continues to crack down. Good!! Who can blame them after what they’ve been through and you would hope that they would be keeping a watchful eye out now more than ever. And they want to bring horse slaughter back to the U.S. What is wrong with those pro-slaughter advocates that have no conscience or intelligence when considering the very possible risk of causing our own version of the European horse meat scandal here. Not to mention all the opposition to their attempts to re-instate it. Americans don’t want it, we don’t want to help support it with our tax dollars, we find the whole idea abhorrent and inhumane, and it needs to stay banned so we can find more responsible ways to manage and control our horse population and to insure the safety and well-being of our horses and our food supply.
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I have the feeling that there’s allot more to his horse meat glut than we know even now. Is it possible that we have been feed horse meat all along without our knowing it? We have burger king, taco bell, aldi, Walmart, Arbys and a lot of processed food substances, even more than we know. Call me a a negative thinker but I’m scared for people here in this country who buy packaged meat in the stores. I took an animal rights course online years ago and it cane up about presentation at grocers. What you see is a package of meat but what they try not to let you think is what the animal was before it became to contents of that packager. Most people don’t think of it that way and i was one of them at that time. It dawned on me that the marketing practices cover this up. Nobody thinks about the animal as it was in life. This was just something that crossed my mind. People forget and as soon as the heat does down, the crooks go to work again. I’ve been trying to let the people in Mexico know that the meat can kill them. My good friend had relatives down by one of the slaughter houses down there who says that they have butchery shops that sell horse meat and that people do buy it. Europe had banned the US but yet Mexico ships meat from US horses under it’s license. They do not test for Bute but Canada does, thus the increase in horses sent down there. Horse meat is being shipped out of Texas and that horse meat that was shipped into this country is still unexplained by the USDA. I’m very suspicious of what is going on behind our backs or right under our noses. If it came in through Tennessee and they get their Ag gag bill through, the meat industry is compromised here already. I’m scared.
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So true, Terri. I have often wondered about the horse meat market and why they want to re-instate horse slaughter here. Since the EU ban as well as other countries that had been our main horse meat market, you have to wonder why now and where the horse meat market will be. I don’t think that pro-slaughter people were really contemplating the EU ban however. That probably came as a surprise. There’s always plan B I suppose. Whatever that may be. I have been a vegetarian for years and now, I encourage others to consider this and I see a movement in that direction. The ag-businesses and beef producers are going to do themselves in with this irrational and greedy thinking. It would be appropriate punishment as far as I am concerned. And Vickery Echoff had once mentioned about millions of pounds of horse meat that had supposedly infiltrated here but, at the time, she was not able to get a straight answer from the proper agencies. I guess we found out where that has been coming from when it was recently disclosed that millions of pounds of horse meat from Mexico was being shipped through the port of Houston. You really have to be asking yourself if they are or have been fooling Americans about what they have been eating for years. It is definitely scary!
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In the U.S., a certain food mart with very long meat counters displays signs up and down attesting the meat is all from the USA……In my most CL voice, “could it be ..errr… scandal fallout” ?
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Teri you’re absolutely right. I broke down and bought a big of chicken today first since the horse meat scandal broke. But NO red meat for me. I don’t usually buy frozen foods at Wal Mart. I confess I’ve had my share of cheeseburgers from Burger King but since last fall when that video came out showing all the abuse I REFUSE to buy any fast food. Even more so now.
It is frightening. I don’t believe for a moment it was simple mislabeling. It was dark and devious, underhanded. It was the old bait and switch.
It doesn’t matter if slaughter plants say all the meat will be exported. There will always be someone out there trying to make a quick buck. If they think they can get away with the bait and switch they’ll try it here. That’s one reason to keep slaughter from ever opening.
Last Mon here in the Bay Area we saw From Track to the Table. There wasn’t one repulsive moment on it visually. Yes the racehorse owner who breeds, races and dumps his culls was disgusting. To me it only highlighted what I already knew. As disgusting as he was–I thought he was the best. Just because of how icky the idea of dumping your horses is.
We heard from a vet at UCDavis about how horses are given antibiotics–not intended for food source animals. Think about it. You slaughter this horse without knowing the drug history. Will the USDA start testing for antibiotics, frog juice, and Bute? Or will they turn a blind eye?
I so wish that with the technology we have today we could have home testing equipment. That when you buy a package of hamburger you can test it for the things that concern you most. It should be user friendly. We have the technology for blood sugar testing, parents can do urine tests on their kids, the police have that stuff to test for coke. I think the technology is there. Now we need to find a way to simplify it, and bring it to the home user. Plus it has to be cost effective. It does no good to make it cost thousands of dollars.
Perhaps writing the SHARKS…
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I contacted the EU, they just sent a response, thanks for your concerns, we are doing what we can. Appreciate your inquiry.! Hopefully they work harder than they email!
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I think that they got
caught with their pants down..I too have not eaten meat for some time now. It always bothered me to see all that red meat just flopped in meat cases. Prior to the scandal, I often
that it was happening here too. The cattle industry and other livestock dealers are slowly but surely putting themselves out of business. When I go to the store, I try to stay away from the “killer” counters. Most Americans would jump out of their skin if they saw what goes on in these slaughter houses. There is absolutely NO COMPASSION FOR THE TIRED AND SCARED ANIMALS THAT ARE KILLED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION…Past carnivor eater..
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There is one thing i found out while reading some information about one of the things that the EU does ban connected with horses slaughtered in Canada/Mexico. They have always refused to have any horse blood shipped to them because it contains high levels of antibiotics. I believe its used to manufacture regents used in labs and drug companies. It couldn’t be used to test new drugs because it killed off the bacteria. So the EU has always known about some drugs that the US horses are given.
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Seriously – Does Oklahoma legislators have a reading program because it seems they have never heard of Europe ….or are they using the Roswell “Hooked on Felons”…..program….
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