Food products in a poor state of conservation were seized during a service by the police, the Coast Guard and the local health authority of Gallura.
A van carrying goods under a "controlled temperature" regime was stopped on the outskirts of Olbia. Once the compartment was opened, the agents found foodstuffs of various kinds inside. Among these, the presence of bags of bivalve molluscs, mussels and clams stood out, transported in direct contact with the loading surface, with a serious risk of contamination.
For this reason and due to the absence of transport documents for the molluscs themselves, the intervention of the Operations Department of the Olbia Coast Guard and the personnel of the ASL Gallura – Food of Animal Origin Hygiene Service was requested.
For other checks, the operators moved to the plant where the foodstuffs had been sorted before being transported, a shed in the industrial area of the city.
Thus, a company in northern Italy was identified which had stored the foodstuffs at room temperature, thus interrupting the cold chain.
Following the checks, approximately 200 kg of food intended for the final consumer was declared to be in a bad state of conservation, with the consequence that fish, crustaceans, molluscs, fresh meat and cured meats, and dairy products were seized for destruction, the placing them on the market could cause serious harm to public health.
The manager of the food supply chain of this company was reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Tempio Pausania and administrative sanctions were contested also for the unsuitable labeling of fish crates and other food products and for the failure to notify the SUAP of the Municipality of Olbia on the carrying out the activities.
(Unioneonline/ss)
