It has been established that the fish were thawed at least once before being frozen again. The suspicious delivery was sent on its way from Argentina to one of the Croatian ports in September last year. Along the way the container got damaged and the hake was transferred to another ship in Morocco. The delivery then continued its journey to Croatia, reports Špela Lobe for TV Slovenija.
Andreja Bizjak from the Slovenian food safety authority: "Colleagues from Croatia checked the delivery and found out that it was in poor condition." The Croatians turned down the delivery which was then returned to Argentina. It was then re-sent to Europe with new documents, this time through the Port of Koper where the delivery was examined by employees of the financial administration.
The fish were thawed many times
Barbara Škirnjar from the Slovenian financial administration explains: "The disproportionally long time period between the date it was dispatched until the date of arrival at the Port of Koper was suspicious enough." That is why investigators from the Slovenian food safety authority were called to the scene.
"We found out that the product was in fact unsuitable foodstuff of animal origin. The fish were thawed and refrozen many times. Even more, we also found a marking from the Croatian authorities, branding the delivery as unsuitable," explained Bizjak. The fish were in such a bad state, that they would be dangerous to human health. "Vomiting, weakness, or any other allergic reaction," Bizjak mentioned some of the possible consequences of consuming spoiled fish.
The hake were not the only ones to have their European journey end at the Port of Koper. Ducks from China and food cans from South Korea were also not allowed to continue their journey, as they did not travel according to basic hygiene standards.