The Guardia Civil has taken more than 50 tonnes of food from two businesses in the Garrachico industrial park in Alicante that didn’t have a health registration or an activity licence.
The Nature Protection Service’s operations made it feasible to find a number of problems with how products meant for eating were stored, handled, and distributed.
In the first warehouse that was checked, officers found a lot of food supplies that came from outside the European Union and were going to be sent out and sold. The company that was in charge didn’t have the right licence or health registration. Some of the products also didn’t have the right labels, while others didn’t have all the information they needed to be sold. The Alicante Public Health Authority took all of the food and put it in their care.
In a second warehouse in the same industrial park, officials found that meat and fruit were being stored, handled, and shipped without following the proper hygiene and sanitation standards. More than four tonnes of meat were found, but there was no proof that it could be traced back to its source. As a safety measure, the meat was taken.
Also, some 1,500 kg of fruits and vegetables were taken since they were not safe to eat because they weren’t stored properly and the sanitary conditions weren’t good enough. They were ordered to be destroyed.
During the search of this second warehouse, officers also found 63 crates with more than 1,900 pairs of athletic shoes from different brands that they thought were fake. The person who owned the goods was looked into for a crime against industrial property and charged with breaking the Law on the Repression of Smuggling.
Four people have been charged with breaking the Food Safety and Nutrition Act and the General Health Act because of the operation. One of them has also been looked at for a crime against industrial property, and another for significant disobedience.
The case has been referred to the right court, and the health authorities can still use the seized products.
The Nature Protection Service of Alicante did the operation with help from SEPRONA of Jijona, agents from the Fiscal and Border Detachment of Santa Pola, and the Food Quality Inspection Service of the Public Health Centre of Alicante.
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