At meat processor Esro Food Group in Nuenen, it appears that even more is wrong than the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) previously thought. The regulator calls on the company’s customers to also remove hamburgers, snacks and soups from the market. There is no danger to consumers, the NVWA emphasizes.
New information shows that the shortcomings at the Nuenen meat processor are more extensive and structural. The NVWA previously called on customers to remove the riskiest raw products from the market. Now it also concerns heated products. “Consider soup balls, for example,” says a spokesperson.
Safe, but not according to the rules
The NVWA emphasizes that the products are not harmful when consumed. “The products are safe to eat, but they do not meet the legal requirements,” the spokesperson said. According to the NVWA, it is difficult to say in which products the unsuitable meat has been used. According to the regulator, it appears that Esro Food Group falsified documents on a large scale.
“The inspection of the delivered meat also appeared to be regularly inadequate,” writes the NVWA on its website. As a result, spoiled meat and remains of animal feed may have gone unnoticed.
Major raid in April
In April, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) and the NVWA carried out a large-scale raid on Esro Food Group. The company is alleged to have committed fraud with unsuitable and spoiled meat. The two directors and a manager of the company were arrested. The three are suspected of trading unsuitable and unsafe meat and forging documents.
The company’s permits were also revoked. The meat processor was declared bankrupt at the beginning of May. According to a spokesperson for the NVWA, a criminal investigation into the company is currently ongoing.