Horse meat scandal spreads across Europe

2013-02-18 11:12

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

BERLIN — A horse meat scandal that started in Britain and Ireland is now unnerving consumers around Europe. DNA tests have revealed that beef tainted with horse meat has made it into supermarkets in 13 European Union nations. Stores, schools, and hospitals are scrambling to remove some meat. And there are calls for tighter regulation of Europe's complex food supply chain.

The horse meat scandal started in Ireland and the United Kingdom in January, but has since spread all around the EU. DNA checks on beef have found that some products, including hamburgers, contained as much as 30 percent horse meat. The list of tainted products has since widened to include frozen lasagna, tortellini, and bolognese sauce.

Europol, the EU's police agency, is leading a Europe-wide fraud investigation. So far, three men are under arrest in England and Wales. They are accused of disguising cheap horse meat as frozen beef. The arrests come as French authorities said meat wholesaler Spanghero re-labeled and sold horse meat from Romanian suppliers. The company denies wrongdoing. By Friday, supermarkets in Germany, Denmark, Hungary, and elsewhere had begun recalling suspect products.

In the German capital, Berlin, consumer safety experts say they are now checking all kinds of meat products.

"We haven't found anything yet in Germany or Berlin, but the research here just started, so I can't promise that we won't find anything later," said. Thomas Heilmann, from the Berlin Office of Consumer Protection

This lab in Berlin, and others around Germany, are also testing meat for phenylbutazone or bute, a pain medication given to horses and found in some samples tested in other EU countries.

Technician Andreas Hlinak says it is too soon to know how much horse meat exists in beef sold in Germany.

"We've received samples, including samples from veterinary agencies, and have begun our tests. We expect to have the results ready on the samples we received this week by the middle of next week," Hlinak said.

Hlinak says his lab employees are going into local supermarkets themselves to obtain samples.

Some food safety experts are blaming supermarkets for pushing down prices and squeezing wholesalers. Others think lax inspections are to blame. As for the supermarkets - they say they have been tricked too, and promise tougher inspections of their own going forward.

相关阅读

President Obama sets his goals for 2013

Oscar-nominated film traces journey of ailing African youngsters

Operation walk gives needy patients new life

Teenager wins top prize for pancreatic cancer test

(来源:VOA 编辑:Julie)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn