The Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE) has seized nearly 50,000 liters of cooking oil to mislead consumers in seven municipalities in the Central Region, it was announced on Friday.
Last week, an operation was carried out in which several inspections were carried out of retailers, warehouses and food packagers in the municipalities of Oliveira do Hospital, Figueira da Foz, Vila Nova de Poiares and Penacova, in the district of Coimbra and Carregal do Sal and Tondela, in the Viseu region.
The arrest, carried out by the specialized anti-fraud team of the Central Regional Unit – Operational Unit of Coimbra, took place as part of the fight against product fraud and consumer misrepresentation in the olive and edible oil sector, according to an ASAE press release sent to the Lusa agency.
The work began in a food establishment where it was discovered that there was food packaging with images on the label of “olive branches and olives” and references to “olive grove, maximum acidity”, as well as an indication of an area with a protected designation of origin for olive oil, forcing consumers to trust that it is olive oil and not just a food seasoning.
Thus, during the inspection carried out at the supplier/packer, 1145 liters of vegetable oil were seized due to lack of food labeling, and its activities were also suspended due to lack of hygiene requirements.
These operations culminated in the seizure of a total of 49,932 liters of cooking oil and 203,000 labels that should have been placed on cooking oil packaging that “misled the consumer regarding the characteristics of the product due to the lack of mandatory references and non-compliance.” good practice information,” the same ASAE note states.
The total value of the seizure is about 77 thousand euros.
“ASAE will continue to develop inspection activities within its competence throughout the country in favor of healthy and fair competition between economic operators, in ensuring food safety and public health of consumers, and in protecting the most important sectors of the national economy,” he concludes.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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