Judicial probe launched into horse meat trade
Court of First Instance prosecutor Panayiota Fakou has ordered a preliminary investigation into charges that abattoirs are selling the meat of aged or sick horses disguised as beef or lamb.
Fakou was responding to a report in local media on Sunday suggesting that abattoirs in the regions of Attica, Viotia and Evia have been passing off horse meat as being domestic beef and lamb, and have been selling it to wholesalers that supply the Italian market.
Greek inspectors have been carrying out dozens of inspections at food wholesalers and retailers following the discovery in February of equine DNA in a number of products that were not labelled as containing the meat.
