Burgers destroyed in Cyprus in light of horse meat scandal

Nicosia, Feb 14 (CNA ) — Sixteen and a half tons of burgers were destroyed a few days ago, in light of the horse meat scandal across Europe. As it was confirmed later on, the company which sells the burgers in Cyprus, was not found to be in any way involved in the matter.

Director of Veterinary Services George Kyriakides told CNA that the company, in its own will, destroyed the burgers, in light of the scandal and the Services were present in the process , following EU laws. Kyriakides went on to say that the company is not in any way invloved in the scandal and it went on to destroy the meat ” acting on suspicion”.

Kyriakides said that products containing horse DNA have found there way in the Cypriot market and they were immediately withdrawn from the supermarkets. He was very clear as to whether horse meat was directly sold in the island market, stressing that all the facts so far, state that such a thing hasn`t happened.

“What we are saying is that so far, according to the facts given to us and the checks we carried out, no horse meat has entered the food chain in Cyprus. But we still have to conduct checks as regards 500 or so invoices”, he pointed out.

He also said that the company in Limassol which is believed to be involved in the scandal, was acting as the middle man. “The offices in Limassol belong to an accounting firm. It is believed that it is acting as the intermediate trader. It does not even have the construction in Cyprus that would have allowed it to bring the meat and sell it here”, Kyriakides said.

He also said that both the Veterinary and Health Services of the government monitor the situation very carefully and check all the facts and briefing from the EU services.

“The flow of information is huge and constant , the update is continuous and we closely monitor the situation”, he said.

He also said that the Agriculture and Food Ministers of the EU countries involved met yesterday in Brussels, there is also a ministerial meeting scheduled for end of February and the informal Council of Ministers to take place April in Ireland

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