WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's top state veterinary official says about 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of meat from sick cows who were slaughtered illegally have been exported to 10 other European Union countries.
Pawel Niemczuk also says the meat was distributed to 20 selling points in Poland but has since been recalled.
The announcement Thursday follows an investigation by broadcaster TVN that exposed sick cows being slaughtered in violation of the law in the northeastern Polish town of Ostrow Mazowiecka.
Niemczuk said the meat ended up in Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Romania, Sweden, France, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia.
Louise Nyholm of Sweden's National Food Agency called it "a serious violation of food law and totally unacceptable."
The Polish veterinary inspectorate stripped the slaughterhouse of permission to operate earlier this week.
