Rolling eggs

The dioxin scandal in Germany upgraded Hungarian brands. This new food scare came in handy for Hungarian farmers and food processing companies as this is the umpteenth case that a food scare started outside Hungary. The National Association of Agricultural Cooperatives and Farmers (MOSZ) issued a statement, stressing the importance of supporting national, strictly controlled food production. According to information from MOSZ, we import tens of million kilograms of pork and hundreds of million litres of milk and dairy products, together with several hundred million eggs a year – and a part of these from companies operating in the scandal-stricken regions. Tamás Éder, president of the Federation of Hungarian Food Industries (ÉFOSZ) and the Meat Association informed that the contaminated feed reached pig farms too. He did not deny the fact that the Hungarian meat industry buys German pork, but he added that the bulk of raw meat in Hungarian shops is of domestic origin as most of the import meat ends up in processed products, which are strictly controlled by manufacturers and the authorities. Antal Sákán, the president of the Hungarian Pig Breeders’ Association (MSZSZ) told that the German pork market collapsed after the scandal broke out. Prices plummeted by 20-30 percent and German pork appeared on the Hungarian black market, selling for HUF 250/kg, while Hungarian pork goes at HUF 330. László Bárány, president of the Poultry Product Council opined that Hungarian poultry and egg farmers were in a better position because due to earlier global scandals in the sector they already established domestic brands such as ‘Hungarian Poultry’ and ‘Koronás Egg’, which are now breaking sales records. Endre Kardeván, junior minister for food chain supervision and agricultural administration at the Ministry of Rural Development and chief veterinary officer announced that egg import from Germany was continuous and the products found in shops by food safety experts were all tested negative for contamination.