Premier: I Urge Schools to Buy Meat for Canteens from Slovak Farms

Bratislava, January 31 (TASR) - In the view of a scandal involving the distribution of doubtful-quality beef from Poland to Slovak school canteens and public eating facilities Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) has urged schools to buy meat for their canteens from controlled Slovak farms, TASR learnt on Thursday. "Based on the published information that foreign meat of doubtful quality might have ended up on the Slovak market, even in our schools, I would like to call on all those who run our nurseries, primary and secondary schools to buy meat for our children coming exclusively from Slovak farms and thus have accurate records of its source and quality. At the same time I want to publicly proclaim that if anyone wants to attack our schools and nurseries for giving priority to Slovak products, the Government of the Slovak Republic is ready to fully protect the schools in their activities," said Pellegrini. Earlier on Thursday Slovak Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS) director Jozef Bires said that almost 300 kilograms of beef from sick cattle from Poland have been distributed to restaurants and schools in Slovakia. Three processors in the east of the country, in Gaboltovo, Bardejov (both Presov region) and Bidovce (Kosice region), received supplies of the beef. The Agriculture Ministry initiated inspections immediately after the scandal broke. tz/mcs