The meat came from France and was delivered to The Netherlands via Belgium between January and October 2013. The meat was then used to make other food products. Officials with Economic Affairs Ministry said in a letter to the Dutch parliament that the meat was unfit for human consumption, but was probably eaten by consumers. The recall follows the arrest in December of 21 cattle traders, butchers and veterinarians in France on charges of illegally selling horses from the sports and pharmaceutical industries. The National Gendarmerie, along with food-safety and veterinary investigators, conducted raids in 11 regions in southern France.
This is not the first time The Netherlands has had problems with food fraud. In April 2013, Dutch authorities ordered a recall of approximately 50,000 tons of beef from 130 Dutch companies on concerns the products were contaminated with horse meat.
