Food control reform urgently needed

Salmonella finds in Denmark with highly resistant germs [III]

On the occasion of the discovery of salmonella-contaminated turkey meat imported from Germany by Danish food experts, the consumer protection officer of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, Ursula Heinen MdB, explains:

Every year in summer the discussion about contaminated food starts again. As a reminder, last year there were residues of pesticides in imported peppers. This year, Danish food experts have found a salmonella germ in turkey meat imported from Germany that is resistant to almost all classes of antibiotics available today. Since the only remedy that helps, according to the Danes, is not approved in human medicine, this germ poses a significant health risk for the consumer in the event of illness. After the Danish institute initially did not want to reveal which slaughterhouse the meat came from, the The Danish government has now informed the state of North Rhine-Westphalia via the federal government that the salmonella strain "Salmonella anatum" has been detected in a sample of vacuum-packed turkey legs from a North Rhine-Westphalian cutting plant.

This case shows once again that food control and monitoring is the key instrument of effective consumer protection. In Germany, however, there is still room for improvement, especially in the coordination of federal and state governments and in relation to uniform control procedures.

In addition to self-monitoring by the companies, food monitoring in Germany is mainly carried out by the federal states, which, however, have very different implementation regulations and different risk assessments. In addition, information for consumers in the event of violations of food law is regulated differently.

Now there is the opportunity to develop a uniform regulation within the framework of the work of the Federalism Commission, or at least to allow better coordination by the federal government. Federal Minister Künast and the representatives of the federal states are called upon to close ranks as soon as possible in the interests of consumers.

Source: Berlin [ CDU / CSU ]