Now if only they could tackle the issue of the EU
That organised crime syndicate dressed up as a democracy.
The EU's European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is applauding the success of an anti-smuggling operation which saw 144 tonnes of fresh Chinese garlic seized in Poland. The cunning oriental plan to flood Poland with Allium sativum involved labelling the produce as "fresh onions", which attract a 9.6 per cent ad valorem import duty …
But when I worked on an EC funded project it was pretty obvious that the un-audited accounts of the EU cover up an excessive amount of fraud and criminal activity.
I suppose people must be downvoting the accusation that the EU is even dressed up as a democracy. Since the EU parliament is incredibly marginalised and actually has no legislative authority, it would be remarkably hard to accuse the EU of being even remotely democratic.
I am surprised they "caught" some. In fact I suspect that the importer simply annoyed the wrong people in the wrong places.
Eastern EU market is flooded with this stuff. The import duty implications aside it tastes like sh**. It is also suspiciously big. It will be interesting to see the chemical analysis for nitrates and trace elements in it.
The California chain grocery market is flooded with the stuff, too ... and it's AWFUL! On the bright side, most farmer's markets & roadside fruit stands carry various varietals from Gilroy & Salinas. Ask your green-grocer for proper garlic ... Squeaky wheel & all that.
Or simply grow your own. It's not exactly rocket science ...
As the ac noted above, it tastes like s**t. There's no duty where live, so the stuff is super cheap compared to the locally grown stuff, but our local supermarket has stopped stocking it, as they couldn't give it away. It is also bleached I understand, to make it look good on the shelf.
to the Chinese garlic-dressed-as-onions trade.» Good to see that our EU authorities remain vigilant to protect us consumers - or was it rather their sources of income - amazing, however, that a sum as small as €1M was able to excite their attention at all ; that's coffee change in Brussels. But then, on the other hand, they do measure cucumbers, to determine whether length and curvature meet our exacting standards, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised....
Henri