October 11, 2022

 

Concerns rise over impact of fraudulent oils sale on Poland's poultry industry

 

 

Police in Poland have detained four people accused of fraudulently selling oils for animal consumption that were in fact classified as being for industrial purposes.

 

Two have reportedly already pleaded guilty.

 

Experts fear the scandal could have wider repercussions for the Polish poultry sector, which is the European Union's biggest and exports nearly half of the meat it produces.

 

News websites Wirtualna Polska and Onet reported that investigators had gathered evidence that Polish chickens and ducks had been given feed containing oils meant for use in the production of greases and biofuels.

 

In poultry farming, fats are added to feed to ensure greater weight gain, improve the absorption of nutrients and, in laying hens, to increase the number of eggs laid. Such fats, however, have to be produced under appropriate conditions and properly certified for animal consumption.

 

According to reports, a Polish couple running a firm in Poznań sought to cut costs by importing oils from, among others, Ukraine, Russia and Malaysia and declaring that they were so-called technical fats – used, for example, in fuel production – not food oils that would be subject to veterinary checks.

 

Wirtualna Polska reported that the practice may have been going on since 2017, but the allegations, for now, cover only the period from January 2020.

 

Poland accounts for 19% of the EU's poultry production, making it the bloc's biggest producer. Some experts worry that the feed scandal could harm the industry, which is already under pressure from rising grain prices.

 

"Some foreign markets are very sensitive to issues concerning the safety of Polish food, and negative information is an argument to question its quality…[and could] have a negative impact on exports," Mariusz Dziwulski, an agricultural and food market analyst at PKO BP bank, told Rzeczpospolita.

 

However, Polish agriculture minister Henryk Kowalczyk stated that there should be no fears about the safety of Polish poultry.

 

"The veterinary service has systematically checked the quality of feed" and "out of more than 300 samples per year that are taken, no trace of dangerous substances have been detected," he said.

 

In the wake of the recent revelations, he reassured that additional inspections would be carried out of both poultry meat and feeds.

 

- Fundacja Notes From Poland