"The National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH) has performed 3700 inspections and issues HUF 4.3 million in fines during the first phase of winter food monitoring activities. Inspections will continue until the end of December", announced State Secretary for Food Chain Supervision and Agricultural Economy of the Ministry of Rural Development Endre Kardeván on Monday in Budapest. The goal of the expanded monitoring is to ensure that only high quality products that conform to food safety standards reach the consumer's shopping basket even during the peak Christmas season.
The State Secretary told reporters that food safety experts found hygiene issues in 4.5 of the cases inspected and irregularities relating to product quality and ingredients in 3.5 percent of cases, while issues relating to the traceability of products were discovered in 2.4 percent of the cases monitored.
During the inspections, meat and meat products, the manufacturing and distribution of confectionery products and the distribution of seasonal fruit and vegetables are being monitored at an increased level, stressed Endre Kardeván, adding that caterers operating in shopping centres, malls, seasonal markets and border crossing points that are enjoying increased turnover during the peak Christmas period can expect heightened monitoring, as may the producers and distributors of medicated animal feeds and the transporters of live animals. Issues relating to product quality and hygienic conditions were primarily found wanting in catering units, but a fine was only issues on one occasion and 85 percent of the units monitored are operating safely.
The majority of inspections so far, 2287, have been performed at food distribution enterprises, but 820 animal shipments and some 500 food production sites have also been monitored, said the State Secretary. During the course of monitoring a total of 19.280 domestic and foreign food items were inspected, 2 percent of which, totalling 313 tons, had to be removed from circulation. The majority of the products withdrawn from the market were fruits and vegetables.
The authority issued 72 warnings and 75 fines totalling HUF 4.3 million in relation to irregularities. 73 cases are still ongoing and the fines issues are expected to total HUF 50-60 million.
At the press conference, Director of the NÉBIH National Food Chain Safety Office György Pleva emphasised that in the spirit of Christmas preparations, the authority's new monitoring group set up this autumn was also turning increased attention to seasonal products. Inspectors found a total of 689 kilograms of unmarked fish and fish offal of unknown origin at two stalls in two different markets in Budapest. In these cases, the further distribution of similar products was banned, and orders was issued for the destruction of the products found. The total value of these items exceeds HUF 1.5 million and the issuing of the relevant fines is in process.
György Pleva also mentioned that at the end of November the Authority performed a large-scale joint inspection with units from the National Tax and Customs Office in Újfehértó, primarily in relation to the large quantities of potatoes found there. A total of 552 tons of goods were inspected at six sites. The authorities ordered the destruction of 296 tons of potatoes in view of the fact that the origin and traceability of the items was unclear. The total value of the fines issues exceeds HUF 34 million, said György Pleva. In addition, 116 tons of potatoes were temporarily impounded because of insufficient labelling and the distributor was issued with a fine in excess of HUF 6 million.
(MTI, Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)
