Decomposing meat to be destroyed

Move was prompted by inquiry at County Fermanagh cold store

Hundreds of tonnes of meat seized during a Food Standards Agency investigation in County Fermanagh must be destroyed, a court has ordered.

Some of the meat was decomposing, foul smelling and green coloured.

The court heard some meat seized at Euro Freeze Ireland (Ltd) in Lisnaskea had bogus health markings and an expiry date of October 2000.

The authorities seized a substantial quantity of meat at the premises in November 2005.

Following a four-week hearing at Fermanagh Magistrates Court, resident magistrate Liam McNally ordered the company to pay the costs of destroying the meat.

The FSA had applied to have 257 pallets of meat and poultry products condemned. Each of the pallets weighed 1,000 kilos.

However, an application to have it condemned was opposed by George McCabe of Euro Freeze.

The magistrate said meat was being repackaged at the Euro Freeze plant in "fundamental breach" of its operating licences.

Bogus health markings on some meat purported to be from various countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain and Italy, the court heard.

Pallets were incorrectly labelled - which meant it was difficult to trace where the meat came from and when it was produced.

There was also evidence of meat having been thawed and refrozen and packaging being re-used, the court heard.

One pallet contained meat labelled as being from Brazil and Uruguay, some of it marked with a expiry date of October 2000.

The Food Standard Agency investigation followed the discovery of a consignment of chicken breasts from China at Belfast Port last August, the court heard.

The chicken bore Italian labels and health marks and because of the possible fraudulent use of these labels was destroyed.