Gelderland butchery to be prosecuted in horse meat scandal

Butchery Van Hattem from Dodewaard and its director will be prosecuted for their role in a horse meat scandal of five years ago. They are suspected of forgery because they sold meat as "horse-free" while it wasn't, and as halal while it wasn't. The butchery is accused of incorporating horse meat into its products and selling it as beef, making 250 thousand euros in illegal profit, Omroep Gelderland reports.

This case started in 2014 when the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority found horse DNA in Van Hattem's beef products. The NVWA ordered Van Hattem to recall 690 tons of meat. This was a lengthy process because the butchery's administrative system did not work properly. As a result, the meat was hard to trace and it was not certain whether it was safe. The meat in question was delivered to supermarkets DekaMarkt, Deen and Vomar.

In addition to the butchery and its director, a middleman from Doesburg and a cold store in Olst are also being charged. The criminal case will be tried in the court in Den Bosch on January 28th and 29th, according to the broadcaster.

Van Hattem went bankrupt at the end of 2014. Its owner then started a new company called Dutch Meat Company.

In a similar criminal case revolving around fraud with horse meat, meat merchant Willy Selten was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in 2015.