Beef from Poland Reached Restaurants and Schools in Slovakia

Ivachnova, January 31 (TASR) - Almost 300 kilograms of beef from sick cattle from Poland have been distributed to restaurants and schools in Slovakia, said Slovak Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS) director Jozef Bires at a press conference on Thursday. Three processors in the east of the country, in Gaboltovo, Bardejov (both Presov region) and Bidovce (Kosice region), received supplies of the beef. According to Bires, one of these processing units wasn't even approved. Bires thinks that it's difficult to tell whether the processors imported the beef because of its price, but it definitely wasn't because of its quality and safety. Bires passed the information to the Slovak Public Health Authority, which is currently investigating it. There has been no feedback so far. "My great concern is that it went to public consumption. My greatest concern is that a sensitive group of children consumed the beef," stated Bires. The Agriculture Ministry initiated inspections right after the scandal broke. Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna (Slovak National Party/SNS) stated that it was correct to initiate the controls despite the fact that the Polish authorities claimed that the beef wasn't exported to fellow EU-member countries. According to Matecna, the beef has reached ten EU countries: Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden. She noted that she'll meet the Polish ambassador in Slovakia on February 1 so that he can clarify the situation. zel/df