EU inspectors in Greek market
European Union officials are in Greece this week to verify Greece’s compliance with EU directives regarding food sales and imports from third countries. Their visit coincides with a warning from local veterinary officials of consumer health risks from primary produce (such as meat). The visit of the three EU inspectors, from the 24th directorate of the EU’s consumer protection service, is organized by Greece’s Unified Food Inspection Agency (EFET), and includes a tour of the State Chemical Laboratories, a carefully chosen restauant, food inspection laboratories in Aghia Paraskevi and Athens airport, as well as a supermarket in Thessaloniki. Here until May 22, they will also be examining the procedures followed in refining vegetable oils. Spyros Kyriakis, head of Thessaloniki University’s veterinary department, said that Greece was not fully implementing EU legislation on primary produce. According to Kyriakis, although every livestock breeder is supposed to have a contract with a veterinarian and be subject to state inspections, this does not always happen.
