Import meat coldstore in Northern Ireland hit with fine for phony health certificates.(Warehousing World)

Euro Freeze, a meat coldstore operation based in Lisnaskea, Northern Ireland, was hit with a 13,000 [pounds sterling] (EUR 19,000) fine after being prosecuted in a UK court for illegally putting false health certificates on meat products.

Euro Freeze has been in trouble since late 2005, when the operation was temporarily shut down over the false certificates. At that time, there was a Europe-wide alert for possibly tainted meat from the company that had been shipped abroad. The mislabeled products included beef, pork and poultry.

The Food Standards Agency of Northern Ireland (FSANI) said May 10 that the fine imposed by Enniskillen Magistrates Court in Northern Ireland would send a message to any other companies in the cold chain that are operating illegally, and that the Euro Freeze case highlights the need for traceability controls so that processors can make sure they do not run afoul of British food safety laws.

The company was fined 1,000 [pounds sterling] for each of the 13 breaches of the regulations. In August of last year, a UK court had condemned the meat from Euro Freeze as having illegal health labeling and ordered the destruction of 254 pallets.

The case began when the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) seized a shipment of poultry from China that was on its way to Euro Freeze. The product was destroyed due to violations of animal health standards, and the FSANI was alerted.

The FSANI investigation found a large quantity of meat had been illegally repackaged and relabeled. The coldstore license was suspended and the meats removed and condemned. The UK's Food Standards Agency issued an EU-wide safety alert to other regulators as some of the meat products had been shipped throughout the bloc.

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