Inspectors shut down slaughterhouse in Hungary

Slaughterhouse closed and 12 tons of unlabelled food seized after inspection.

Close-up picture of ground meat.
Beeld: ©jhenning

The National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH) has recently shut down a pork slaughterhouse in Albertirsa, Pest county, Central Hungary, for serious violations of hygiene and food safety regulations.

Inspectors found the premises to be unclean, some products requiring refrigeration were stored in the courtyard and there was dirt and rust on the walls and ceilings. There was also a severe lack of hygienic products and disinfectant tools were not operational.

The inspectors seized more than 12 tons of unlabeled food as well.

This closure was a part of NÉBIH's recently launched slaughterhouse inspection series. According to the public regulation infringement database of the office, two other slaughterhouses have recently been shut down for similar violations.  According to the online company database Céginformáció, they were both in the €1.6 million annual income category, one with 10 employees, while the other with 22.

The office has an info section on food safety regulations in connection with COVID-19 and the National Epidemiologic Center has an info page on pandemic safety recommendations for the owners, managers and workers of slaughterhouses.

The slaughterhouse in Albertirsa has an annual revenue of €10.6 million and employs fifty people.

Sources: Hungary Around the Clock, 24.hu, National Food Chain Safety Office (NÉBIH), National Epidemiologic Center, Céginformáció.hu