The PVD spokeswoman, Ilze Meistare, told BNS that about 10 tons of inappropriately labeled or relabeled food had been found in the warehouse of Delfa company.
The products belong to Delfa and Fris-L, a company renting warehouse space from Delfa.
During the inspection the food authority established that about a ton of frozen products – fowl, salmon and pork – owned by Fris-L had been relabeled with new expiration dates.
The Agro Trans A company had relabeled the products and sold expired meat to Fris-L, which in turn supplied it to a number of customers, including a school canteen in Riga. The PVD inspectors promptly seized 65 kilograms of frozen meat that had not yet been cooked and served at the school.
The food authority also seized products owned by Delfa – 760 kilograms of frozen fish products past the expiration date and about seven tons of unlabeled or inappropriately labelled frozen fish products, the origin of which is yet to be determined.
The companies participating in the scheme face administrative charges. However, the maximum penalty - a fine of up to €700 (up to €4,000 for repeated offences) - doesn't do much to repel potential wrongdoers.
In late October, a similar scheme was uncovered, as PVD came upon 30 tons of relabeled frozen products, including ice-cream and frozen pastries.
