Europe
11:13, 22-Jan-2019
Horsemeat scandal: Trial opens for four accused of selling horsemeat
["china"]
Share
Copied
The trial for a 2013 meat scandal in Europe started in Paris on Monday. Four people are accused of using cheap horsemeat in products labeled as beef, that were sold across Europe.
Two former managers of French meat-processing firm Spanghero, along with two Dutch meat traders are accused of serious fraud charges, and face a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a fine of one million euros.
One Frenchman denies knowing he was being sold horse, Reuters news agency reports, but one of the traders said he knew what he was buying. It was not immediately clear how the other defendants would plead.
Millions of meals were withdrawn from supermarket shelves after they were found to contain horsemeat instead of beef.
The Irish authorities found in early 2013 that horsemeat had been used in frozen burgers labeled as "pure beef."
The four men are accused of helping organize the sale of more than 500 tonnes of horsemeat in 2012-2013 to a subsidiary of Comigel, a French company whose frozen meals were sold in more than a dozen European countries.
The trial is expected to run until mid-February.