| hardstyle |
ANTSZ lifts paprika ban on 20 more products
By Dániel Sándor
HUNGARY'S public health authority (ANTSZ) gave the all clear for another 20 paprika products to go on sale Monday, November 1.
The government imposed a ban on the sale of red paprika powder from Thursday after finding it contained high levels of aflatoxin, a potentially carcinogenic tropical fungus originating from South America.
"The government should draw some conclusions from the affair," prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány said after meeting ministry and food health authority officials.
"The first step is to initiate that the competent committee of the European Union should make the importation of ground paprika subject to itemized checks."
The famous Hungarian product was found to be tainted by the tropical fungus at three companies; Kalocsai Fűszerpaprika Rt, Szegedi Fűszerpaprika Rt, and Sükösdi Házi Pirospaprika Kft.
The companies concerned had not labeled their packaging to show the import content.
As a result the government ordered the testing of all red paprika powder products and said it would only allow products it found safe back on store shelves.
Gyurcsány said that in a few weeks time control over the Food Health Office would be transferred to the ministry of health from the ministry of agriculture.
He added that he welcomed the news that safe paprika products were to be allowed back on store shelves, and that paprika made by Hungarian producers had stood all tests.
THE Hungarian Government's ban on the sale of Hungarian red paprika spice last Thursday, October 28, was enforced after the National Health Service (ÁNTSZ) found aflatoxin, a toxic fungus, in the products of three Hungarian companies.
Aflatoxin, used in 1990 to develop chemical weapons, can be carcinogenic, and immunosuppressive.
According to Hungarian daily Népszabadság, Hungarian Minister of Health, Social and Family Affairs, Jenô Rácz, emphasized that the spice is toxic only if "at least 0.5kg is consumed by someone in a relatively short time".
Theoretically, the toxic fungus might also be found in pistachios, peanuts, or potato chips, however, the amount in these products is negligible. Experts say that the poisonous fungi originates from South America, since the climate in Hungary does not make it possible for it to develop here.
Producers mixed imported paprika into the Hungarian spice due to a drought last summer which led to a decrease in local red paprika production.
Shops and restaurants are being inspected by ÁNTSZ officials and the General Inspectorate of Consumer Protection. Sándor Komlósi, deputy manager of the Kerék restaurant, which serves mostly Hungarian dishes, told The Budapest Sun that, "guests still ask for dishes which are cooked with red paprika. They say they take the risk. Of course, these meals are temporarily off the menu."
ÁNTSZ was investigating all the shops and restaurants in the district, Komlósi added, and had sequestered supplies. Shops that continue to supple paprika can expect a serious fine. ÁNTSZ, as it indicates on its Website, has obliged all producers to have their products examined.
Secretary of the Paprika Council, Antal Katona, said the situation was a tragic blow to the industry. "Everyone has taken a wait-and-see attitude. No one knows what will happen. It takes three days to complete the examination of one sample."
Restaurants, shops and producers fear that consumers will withdraw their trust from the product if the prohibition lasts for any length of time.
The Secretary of the Hungarian Meat Industry Union, Mrs László Menczel, insisted that meat products are not contaminated with aflatoxin. She told press that the quality inspection system is extremely extensive and thorough.
Nevertheless, as Rácz told Hungarian television, a thorough investigation is necessary to find holes in the quality inspection system. Police are investigating how the toxic paprika entered Hungary, and are looking to charge those who may have misled consumers and endangering public health.
Hungarian news agency MTI reports that checks carried out by the Inspectorate for Consumer Protection at 2,323 retail units last Thursday and Friday found that 8% of shops and 6% of store chains were still keeping the banned products on their shelves.
Ok i dont know whats going on in my country with the paprika , but its kinda upsetting to read that they used chemicals in them
:whip: :whip: :whip: :whip: |
|
|
