Dutch food authority raids meat processor; facility continues to operate

A unit of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has searched a meat processing facility suspected of selling products without the required accreditatio

The Intelligence and Investigation Service (IOD) of the NVWA raided the unnamed firm Nov. 8. The agency suspects the company sells meat to catering firms.

An NVWA statement said a company has to meet several requirements to show that hygiene can be guaranteed. It is punishable to process and sell meat without such documentation.

The IOD arrested an unspecified number of suspects during the search. They were released after questioning. Digital records and other evidence was seized by authorities. A section of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) is also involved with the enquiries.

An NVWA spokeswoman told Food Safety News she could not give more details as the investigation was ongoing.

“The suspicion is they don’t have the right papers in line with the General Food Law of the European Union. We are searching and it depends on what is wrong for what measures will we take,” she said.

“As it is a suspicion we have not stopped them selling food. There is no ground to do so until we prove if they have the right papers. There is no information on when this will be, it is not only our investigation, it is with the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service.”

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