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For two weeks now we have been waiting for the names of the farms and milk processors where milk infested with aflatoxin was found, a cancer-causing substance which can affect our health.
However, the authorities have been very reluctant in giving any names, so we have been unable to find these names from "sources".
At first, the representatives of the National Authority for Health, Veterinary and Food Safety (ANSVSA) told us that they were unable to disclose the names of the producers whose names contained aflatoxin, because that would violate the European regulations.
The quoted sources said: "The names of the brands involved in the scandal of the milk contaminated with aflatoxin are protected based on the Regulation of the European Commission no.178/2002".
The regulation in question, however, specifies that if maintaining the secrecy of the information could have negative effects on the public health, then the information in question can be made public.
We were subsequently told that the data would be announced in the press conference which was held yesterday at the headquarters of the ANSVSA, organized in order to publicize the results of the investigation made by the authorities in the milk industry.
But we didn't have any luck then, either. Both the management of the ANSVSA, as well as the minister of agriculture, Daniel Constantin provided the press with a series of numbers, but not one farm, processor or brand was named.
A local publication published a piece of information according to which, the dozens of farms where aflatoxin was found includes some in the county of Arad. But our regional colleagues were unable themselves to find out more about those producers, because Viorel Agud, the head of the division of the National Authority for Health, Veterinary and Food Safety in the county of Arad, curtly said "that he was unable to provide more details".
Whereas until yesterday we used to think that these names aren't being made public because there is no certainty that the milk of the producers in question includes aflatoxin, yesterday when concrete information existed, the excuse the authorities used for not having revealed for the names in question was "not to kill the industry".
The representatives of the ANSVSA told us: "That would amount to burying the industry. The farmers aren't to blame, the samples were taken using self-testing programs, they've changed the fodder they feed to the cattle and they are losing money anyway, and milk is now a consumer good. So why kill them?".
It's just that meanwhile, the sales of milk have fallen by close to half, and most of the processors, not just those where the irregularities were found, have seen losses of several tens of millions of Euros, amid the scandal of the aflatoxin, according to Dorin Cojocaru, the executive director of the professional association of milk processors APRIL.
He said: "The milk products found on the shelves of the stores are very safe. I don't understand why we had to risk the entire Romanian industry for certain interests".
More than 130 tons of yoghurt produced by Danone were preemptively removed from the market or locked in the warehouses, a few days ago, as they are suspected of containing aflatoxin, after the substance in question was found in the milk delivered by one of its suppliers.
After sending in samples of the products withdrawn from the market to an accredited European lab for analysis, Danone România has announced that the results received confirm that the products have an aflatoxin content below the European limit and that they are safe for consumption.
Market sources told us that products of Transylvanian producer Carmolact (which sells the Monor brand) were pulled off the shelves these days. The general manager of the company, Eugen Creosteanu, told us that no Carmolact product was withdrawn from the stores these past few days, save for last month, when the Cora hypermarkets withdrew the products because they were "overzealous". The Monor products were tested then, and no suspicious substances were found, as the dairy products were put back on sale a few days later, according to the General Manager of Carmolact.
• 67 samples of milk contained aflatoxin
Out of the 1,335 samples of milk collected, 67 had a level of aflatoxin higher than the limit allowed in the European Union, according to a statement made yesterday by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Daniel Constantin.
The official said: "This action was based on a certainty we have acquired on March 15th, when aflatoxin was found at a Romanian farm at levels higher than the allowed European level of 0.05%. Since March 7th, a record number of samples was collected for analysis, 1,335 (...) Out of those, 67 samples were found positive, in other words containing a quantity of aflatoxin above the limit allowed in the European Community, of 0.05%. This means approximately 5% of the total number of analyses. We are speaking about 34 samples which tested positive for aflatoxin which were found in farms, five positive samples in the milk collection centers, eight positive samples at the automatic milk selling machines and 2o positive samples in the processing units. All of these positive cases were isolated, the products did not reach the shelf, and today they are safe for consumption".
According to Daniel Constantin, the names of the troubled farms and collection centers are currently well known, and in a few days they will have the ability to start producing for the market again.
"All the cases which have been identified have been isolated and the products in question were no longer sold before going into processing. Everything that is currently on the shelves is fit for consumption and doesn't affect the public health in any way. Sweeping things under rug was never an option for me, or for the USL. We know very clearly the farms and the collection centers which had problems, which were not intentional, but involuntary. Today, they are all isolated and perhaps in a few days, all of these isolated companies will begin producing for the market again".
As part of the additional investigations for determining the aflatoxin content in the milk, 785 farms of milk cows were investigated, as well as 177 collection centers, 134 machines for the direct sale of raw milk to the end consumers, and 239 units for the processing of milk authorized/registered with the ANSVSA.
The authorities have restricted the sale or the direct sale to consumers, through machines for the direct sale of raw milk to the end consumers, of 193 tons of milk, which represents 0.03% of Romania's monthly output.
The collection of milk has also been temporarily halted at all of the five milk collection centers which failed the tests.
193 tons of raw milk and 104 tons of dairy products were destroyed.
Producers will remain under supervision for about a month, according to the statements of the officials of the ANSVSA.
EMILIA OLESCU
Who's getting hurt?
• Galli Gallo wants compensation from the ANSVSA, after the authority has announced that the antibiotics levels in their turkey meat did not exceed the allowed limits
Cătălin Muntean, the owner of the group of companies Galli Gallo of Codlea, yesterday said that the damages caused by the false announcement about the treatment of the turkey meat with antibiotics have already reached several hundred thousand euros. "On a good day before the crisis we used to sell 44 tons of meat at an average price of 13.2 lei /kg, and we are now selling 21 tons at an average price of 11.2 tons per kg. Because our sales dropped, we are forced to keep the turkeys and to continue to feed them, which increases our cost per kilogram", said Muntean.
The owner of the group of companies in Codlea also told us that the only ones he will sue are those of the National Authority for Health, Veterinary and Food Safety (ANSVSA): "They have distributed strictly confidential documents to the press, which dragged our company's name into a pointless scandal. We are still evaluating our losses, and they will keep growing. Therefore, we will ask for compensations from the ANSVSA for what they did".
The vice-president of the ASNVSA Vladimir Mănăstireanu yesterday said that the investigations around the suspected high content of antibiotics in the turkey meat exported to Germany by the Galli Gallo company of Codlea were completed, and the suspicion was unfounded.
Mănăstireanu, who is leading the ANSVSA until the appointment of a new president, said that the company has complied with the regulations concerning the breeding and processing of turkeys, but did not say that the analyses conducted in Germany were erroneous.
The ANSVSA has emphasized that the measure of impounding for sanitary purposes applied to several to a number of two batches of turkey meat, suspected of containing antibiotics above the maximum allowed level, was lifted, as the analysis bulletin issued by the accredited Sanitary Veterinary laboratory showed that the product was compliant with the standards.
The alert concerning the turkey breasts with antibiotics found in Germany was published on March 12th by the European Commission, and it mentioned that the maximum allowed level of an antibiotic used for veterinary purposes had been exceeded in fried turkey breasts, originating from Romania, according to the ANSVSA.
The product in question came from the company Galli Gallo and starting in June 2012, it was being distributed in Romania and in three other member states. (Ovidiu VRÂNCEANU)
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• "Ardealul" canned beef, containing horse meat, on store shelves
Approximately 2,000 cans of "Ardealul" beef have reached consumption. The company issued the following press release: "SC Producţie Ardealul SRL has withdrawn since march 8th 2013 the recall of two batches of Ardealul canned beef, which had the following expiration dates as December 5th, 2014 and January 15th, 2015, as a preventive measure. Due to a very good traceability system, essentially the biggest amount of the total quantity of 30,000 cans from the suspected batches did not reach the market or the retailers' shelves, as over 93% was kept in the warehouses".
In other words, the remaining 7% of the 30,000 cans, that is 2,100 cans, have either already been bought by consumers, or they are still on the shelves of the stores.
According to the press release, the raw material used in the cans in question "accidentally came into contact with horse meat from outside the company", namely on the company's cashflow.
The official analyses were conducted by the laboratory at the request of the ANSVSA, and following the results the Authority has announced that it has closed the alert about this suspected issue.
A press release of the ANSVSA announces that the presence of horse specific DNA was 1%, in the product "300 g canned beef". "According to the European legislation this means that a contamination occurred during the distribution chain for the meat, which entered processing and the suspicion of fraud is invalidated".
The representatives of Producţie Ardealul are saying that even though the canned meat poses no danger to the health of the public, the company considers the situation as unacceptable compared to its internal quality standards, and as a result, the products from the batches will not be resold.
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• 30,000 de lei - the fine for the meatballs which contained horse meat
In the case of the suspected substitution of beef with horse meat, in the minced meat used for the meatballs, the processor, SC Nicolin Ploieşti, was fined with 30,000 lei, according to the ANSVSA.
Vladimir Mănăstireanu, who is leading the ANSVSA until the appointment of a new president, said that the company came to the attention of the investigators for tax fraud.
The results of the investigation show that out of the 1,920 casseroles of 800 grams of minced meat each, 1,358 casseroles were sold, while the remaining 562 had been impounded and destroyed.
The company from Ploieşti which was fined for making meatballs which contained horse meat without being labeled as such, is managed by the former head of the Office For The Safety Of Animal-Based Foods from the division of the ANSVSA in the county of Prahova, and her subordinates are the people who investigate the companies such as the one managed by her husband. The head of this institution said, quoted by Mediafax, that following the alert, the woman was moved to a position in the office which is in charge of checking non-food products.
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