Over 850,000 tainted cartons
Greece’s largest dairy products exporter, FAGE, withdrew more than 850,000 moldy yogurt cartons from domestic and international markets without informing authorities, the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) charged in a letter to the European Commission yesterday. FAGE removed 345,000 yogurts from the Greek market, 256,000 from European Union countries and 111,000 from the USA, while keeping another 150,000 tainted products in its factories, according to EFET’s response to a question by European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou. According to the statement by EFET – which is part of the Development Ministry – the goods were withdrawn between February 9 and March 15, «but it is impossible to determine the number of yogurt cartons that it had not been withdrawn.» General State Laboratory Director Dionysios Mantelis will provisionally head EFET until a new official is appointed to replace Nikos Katsaros, who resigned Thursday, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas said yesterday.
