Safety council poised to slam 'untransparent' meat industry

DutchNews.nl, Wednesday 26 March 2014

The council wants the meat is

safer for consumers. (NOS/ANP)

The Dutch safety institute is poised to publish a damning report about food safety in the meat industry, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday.

The report by the Onderzoeksraad voor de Veiligheid says there are serious shortcomings in food industry supervision which pose a risk to food safety, the paper says.

In particular, the report is criticial of the lack of transparency in the meat trade. For example, a supermarket hamburger or meatball could have been handled by three or four different meat processors and the origin of the meat is often untraceable. 

Industry 

The Telegraaf says the industry itself is waiting for the report on tenterhooks following a string of food safety scandals over the past year. These involve beef contaminated with horse and faeces and salmonella in salmon. 

Last year some 60,000 people suffered salmonella poisioning in the Netherlands, the paper says. Yet the number of NVWA food safety inspectors has been 'eaten away' over the past few years. 

Inspectors 

Earlier this month, the head of the NVWA told the Financieele Dagblad there has been a disturbing number of incidents involving food in the Netherlands and meat product producers in particular have a lack of ethical awareness. 

‘It has become normal to go as far as you can and hope you won’t get caught and that shows a blurring of standards,’ the organisation’s director Harry Paul told the Financieele Dagblad.

‘This has led to a number of serious shortcomings which delivers serious risks for the near future as well.’

America 

Meanwhile, a broadcast by television consumers show Radar showing the abuse of horses in North and South American slaughterhouses has prompted some supermarkets to have a rethink, news agency ANP says. 

Coop and Deen said they would stop the import of horse meat products from the continent while Jumbo and Albert Heijn are to investigate the origin of their own products. 

Snack maker Ad van Geloven/Mora has also pledged to investigate where the horse meat it uses comes from. 

Health minister Edith Schippers has promised a better labelling system for meat products so that consumers can see where the horse meat has come from. 

Horse meat is not widely eaten by itself in the Netherlands but is processed into snacks such as frikandel and in ready-to-eat meals.

Related Articles:

Meat industry regulation to be overhauled: minister

Safety body slams Dutch meat industry: fraud and hygiene big issues
Dutch food safety inspectors slam 'disturbing' number of incidents

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.