New Meat Scandal Erupts in Germany

Customs authorities are investigating a Bavarian businessman, who allegedly declared tons of meat waste products as food fit for human consumption and shipped it within Germany and to other European countries. The waste products were supposed to have been processed for use only in dog or cat food. The state of Bavaria is planning a recall campaign to pull the meat out of stores, if the products can be identified. Bavaria's environment minister, Werner Schnappauf, said while disgusting, the meat did not pose a health hazard, since the waste products had been heated to high temperatures during processing. Shipments of the waste products apparently made their way from Germany to Italy, Switzerland, Austria and France. According to a report in the magazine Stern, the meat company under investigation was convicted of fraud in 2003 and had no authorization to trade in food products.