Source: Multiple
“EVERYTHING about Horse Slaughter is either corrupt or illegal!”
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch authorities on Thursday arrested the director of a meat-processing and wholesale company whose business is at the center of an investigation into undeclared mixing of horse meat with beef.
Investigators from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority arrested the man on suspicion of fraud and detained him for further questioning. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six year’s imprisonment, according to prosecutors.
His identity was not released, in line with Dutch privacy laws, but local media identified him as Willy Selten, whose company is at the heart of a huge recall of beef that had possibly been mixed with horse meat. An interim director of the company was arrested on Tuesday and an administrative employee also is suspected of fraud, but has not been detained, prosecutors said.
The company involved also was not identified, but is based in the province of North Brabant, which is home to Selten’s meat works.
The company allegedly bought 300 tons of horse meat from the Netherlands, Britain and Ireland from 2011-2012 and sold it on as beef, prosecutors said in a statement.
Investigators who pored over the company’s books were unable to establish where exactly all the meat came from or where it went.
Selten has, in the past, denied having sold horse meat as beef. He was in police custody Thursday and unavailable for comment.
His business has collapsed since it was linked to the horse-meat scandal, which broke in mid-January, when Ireland’s food safety watchdog announced that it had discovered traces of horse DNA in burger products sold by major British and Irish supermarkets. The mislabeled products came from Irish processor Silvercrest Foods, which withdrew 10 million burgers from store shelves.
Irish officials first blamed an imported powdered beef-protein additive used to pad out cheap burgers, then frozen blocks of slaughterhouse leftovers imported from Poland — as a complex web of meat transactions across Europe was revealed to an alarmed European public.
Subsequently, traces of horse meat turned up across Europe in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna, as well as in in fresh beef pasta sauce, on restaurant menus, in school lunches and in hospital meals.
Millions of products were pulled from store shelves in Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and supermarkets and food suppliers were told to test processed beef products for horse DNA.
Last month, the Dutch food safety authority called on 370 companies around Europe and 132 more in the Netherlands to recall 50,000 tons of meat they bought from Willy Selten. A week later, his business was declared bankrupt.
Related Articles
- 50,000 tons of meat recalled over traceability issues (horsetalk.co.nz)
Categories: Equine Rescue, Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Everyone in the horse slaughtering business should be arrested and the keys thrown away !
LikeLike
Yes!!!
LikeLike
Agreed!
LikeLike
A maximum sentence of 6 years in prison! That is all this huge conspiracy of deceiving and potentially sickening the people who ate it is worth? Go vegetarian/vegan. Problem solved.
LikeLike
I think so. 6 years is nothing got an act of terrorism.
LikeLike
Not alwys true, we get produce from many countries, many that have no watchdogs, or sanitation….or what they us for fertilizer…support your LOCAL farmer!!!
LikeLike
Fry is behind. He put millions of people at risk..
LikeLike
Just the thought of 50,000 tons of horsemeat recalled is enough to make you sick! The number of horses who lost their lives to this brutal practice is horrifying in itself, let alone the millions of people he put at risk! To be put out of business is a given, but the consequences of his actions should be more severe than 6 years in prison. The fact this has been uncovered is a blessing and hopefully open peoples eyes to this once and for all…..”Everything about Horse Slaughter is corrupt or illegal”.
LikeLike
6 years is nothing, but it is just the start of a more compassionate, civilzed society, go Veg/vegan!
LikeLike
Even if you can get past the idea of even eating horses, which in itself is immoral & disgusting, the facts remain that these people & God knows who else, blatantly & purposely LIED to all involved! For that premeditated action alone, they should get more than 6 years, they should also be forced into never being involved in the meat industry again, for life. This irresponsible action has caused world-wide anger, fear, & may have devastating health consequences, not to mention, it may well put a lot of honest, hard-working family businesses, out of business, because people as in the consumer will no longer trust these products, or those that sell them. And, America & her government needs to take their blinders off, face the reality, wake up & smell the coffee! How can our so-called “leaders” be so stupid & indifferent about what’s going on all over the world, & then allow that to re-start here in the good ole United States!!?? They are brain dead, & need to be replaced!
LikeLike
So sorry the Race Track Veterinarians fill these poor horses full of drugs and then are promoting horsemeat to be sold…. We have one Vet Kentucky Derby winner here in NM who thinks it is good to slaughter horses and send them to Europe to be eaten. He puts drugs in the horses himself! What is this world coming to?
LikeLike
There will never be any way to track just where the horse meat came from either. All of it may have come from Canada or Mexico by way of the US. There is no separation of the imported horse meat and what is raised in Europe from what I understand.
LikeLike
One man who had many working with him…. many were a party to this… where is the EU horse meat delivery from? Get the paperwork and do a thorough job!
LikeLike
I just heard Chris Mathews say on MSNBC that Carole KIng met with Obama today. He gave her an award and they spent some time talking. Mathews wondered what they were discussing so it is quite possible the President gave her quite a bit of time – of course, that is my speculation – I can hardly believe there was anything discussed other than the plight of the Wild Horses and Burros and the horrors of Horse Slaughter.
LikeLike
how come the article didn’t mention anything about american horses? There was a few years where america was slaughtering more horses then in the past…i thought it was due to this scandal.
LikeLike
Well, I watched the segment again later and KIng did not indicate that she spoke to Obama of horses, but she has his ear.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing this information as so many people are not informed and do not understand this is happening.
LikeLike
FYI – the following link will put you in line for information about the amendments to the farm bills in both the Senate and the House. As some of these amendments may affect the outcome of horse slaughter, this is a good way to stay aware of what is being added or removed and allow you to react as it happens. The link is http://sustainableagriculture.net/take-action/
LikeLike