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3/30/14

The Netherlands - Food quality: "Meat safety in Netherlands cannot be guaranteed" - by Karin Bosteels

Consumers cannot derive too much safety from meat that is offered for sale in the Netherlands. That is the remarkable conclusion of the newest report from the Dutch Research Board for Safety.

Companies believe economic reasons to weigh out on the safety of a product, that is the damning conclusion of the "Risks in the meat chain" report", published by the Dutch Research Board for Safety. It appears that hygiene rules are often ignored, because of a lack of education or a lack of time. 

Meat fraud is ever-present, the Board stated. Meat can suddenly change composition on paper and waste meat can be "turned into" meat for human consumption all of a sudden. The horse meat security has not been guaranteed because of this fraud sensitivity, the Board says clearly.

The Netherlands do have an official office that has to assure food safety, called the Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, but it has "under-performed a lot".

The Research Board believes this to be the result of "constant reorganizations and cutbacks", leaving little means to actually have an impact on the meat industry. "This is why the NVWA has lost authority", a claim to which the organization stated that it is working on "structural improvements of its oversight capabilities".

Read more: "Meat safety in Netherlands cannot be guaranteed" | Retail Det

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