Biznes Fakty
The Trade Quality Inspection has checked meat products. Numerous irregularities have been found
The Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection announced on Friday that nearly one in three inspected retail outlets showed discrepancies in the labeling of meat products. The concerns included, among other things, the use of vague abbreviations, missing origin information, or instances of falsification.
The inspections, carried out from February to mid-June, aimed to verify the accuracy of the information provided to consumers regarding the origin of meat products. A total of 504 retail locations were examined across the nation, including markets, butcher shops, and large retailers, with 1,829 batches of red meat being assessed.
Irregularities were identified in 175 establishments, representing 34.7% of all inspected sites. The highest number of issues were found in marketplaces and general stores, where nearly half of the locations reported problems with accurate labeling. In specialized and large retail outlets, the rate of irregularities was close to 29%.
Misleading information on labels
Inspectors questioned a total of 583 batches of meat. The concerns included, among other things, the absence of origin information, the usage of ambiguous abbreviations, or the sale of expired meat. In 43 batches, false information regarding the country of origin was found—predominantly, meat from Germany and Spain was misrepresented as „Polish.” Conversely, there were cases where Polish meat was labeled as imported.
Regarding products labeled as „Produkt Polski,” two batches out of 123 examined were contested. IJHARS is pursuing administrative actions against dishonest merchants who risk penalties for food adulteration.
IJHARS oversees the commercial quality of agri-food products throughout production and trade, including those intended for export, manages the commercial quality of agri-food products imported from abroad, including border inspections of these goods, and evaluates and issues certificates concerning the commercial quality of agri-food products.
