Fraudulent labeling in Thurgau
Butcher sold imported meat as “Suisse Guarantee”
A Thurgau butcher sold imported meat between 2018 and 2019 and declared it as Swiss goods. Now those responsible have been convicted.
Published: 21 minutes ago
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A Thurgau butcher shop did not want to forego sales between 2018 and 2019 when Swiss veal and beef were scarce. (icon picture)
Because beef and veal were scarce in 2018 and 2019, a Thurgau butcher (58) and his son (30) imported 116 tons of meat from Austria, France, Uruguay and the Netherlands. Not reprehensible in itself. Only: They declared the meat as a “Suisse guarantee”.
This label ensures that it is only Swiss meat, which was not the case here. For this they had to answer to the Weinfelden district court in December, as the “Thurgauer Zeitung” reports. In court, the father showed no understanding: he didn’t quite understand the problem, his customers didn’t care where the meat came from. He emphasizes that although the meat came from abroad, it was still of high quality and ended up costing more because it was imported. With the imported meat, the butcher’s made a gross profit of around 246,000 francs, which would otherwise not have been possible.
Didn’t the son know anything?
The public prosecutor demanded a hefty fine, the defense argued against it. “He didn’t sell cheap meat for expensive ones, but misdeclared high-quality meat. That was a mistake that can be dealt with with a penalty order. A conditional fine is sufficient.”
As deputy managing director, the son is said to have known nothing of all this. In fact, according to the report, the imported meat was just lying around when the butcher’s cantonal laboratory paid an announced visit. If the son had known that the meat had been incorrectly declared, he probably would have put it away.
The court did not classify the actions of the accused as fraud. Instead, they would have been guilty of commercial use of a guarantee and collective mark contrary to the regulations. For this they collect a conditional prison sentence and a fine with a probationary period of two years. They also receive a fine of CHF 2,000 each and have to pay Agro-Marketing Suisse party compensation of CHF 2,403. The verdict is not yet final, both parties have filed an appeal. (lrc)