Agriculture Minister blasts slow response to lountza contamination

THE MINISTER of Agriculture Timis Efthymiou has hit out against the “inexcusable delay” in releasing the name of the company which put contaminated lountza on the market last month.

Efthymiou criticised the slow response in naming the company, allowing over 90 kilos of the lountza to be bought by consumers. The Agriculture Minister said: “There has been a dramatic delay by the veterinary services because they did not alert the health services straight away, who themselves did not alert the public quickly enough as they should have done.”

He added that he would address the Cabinet today to ask for explanations.

The identity of the company responsible was released on Monday by the Health Services. Chomatas Ltd, situated in Kato Milo, was named as the guilty party. The lountza on sale was marketed under the name “Roll”. Efthymiou added that the meat was analysed on November 1 and that it was then discovered to be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes – a microorganism that can lead to serious food poisoning.

Asked by reporters whether the company was responsible for the growth of the bacteria, Efthymiou answered that the company “was responsible because the company didn’t follow the procedures that it was meant to follow. People who have responsibilities like these also have the risk of paying the price.”

Meanwhile Michalis Aloneftis, the owner of Harilaos Aloneftis Ltd, stated that dried apricots his company produces and markets have been placed in one of his warehouses after a report by the Health Services that the apricots had too many preservatives.

Aloneftis added that although he asked for chemical analyses of his products, he still has not had a response from the Health Services since last Friday.

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