The European Commission subsequently urged all member countries to take samples so as to identify horse DNA in the foodstuffs sold as beef or labeled as containing beef. In parallel, as of March 1st, in Romania inspections have been conducted in all slaughter plants and meat storage units in the country. Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin has said that the Government of Romania remains committed to have the guilty ones pay.

He added that only one case of abuse had so far been identified, and the respective company’s authorization was suspended until the police completed its investigation. The most recent accusations come from Greece, where, according to the media, horsemeat labeled as beef was supplied from Romania. Daniel Constantin argued that the Greek party failed to provide all the data required for the investigation of the case. He does not rule out, however, the option of certain national industries trying to take advantage of the scandal in order to derive economic benefits, especially in times of crisis:

Daniel Constantin: “Basically, I think huge amounts of money are at stake, and I believe the meat industry in Romania and the Romanian authorities ought to protect the producers, processors and consumers in the country in this case. There may be member states that are not necessarily interested in proving that the fraud takes place on their territory. This is why we try to be more active, so as to make sure the guilty parties are identified as soon as possible and to clear Romania of these suspicions.”
Daniel Constantin mentioned that none of the three allegations of Romanian businesses’ involvement in this Europe-wide fraud has so far been confirmed.