Gran Canaria restaurant owners charged for serving contaminated meat
The owners of several well-known restaurants in Gran Canaria, have accepted prison sentences of one year and four months, fines of €1,260, and three-year bans from handling or processing food, following their involvement in ‘Operation Bife’, an investigation into the sale of “spoiled meat”.
The Guardia Civil originally arrested them in 2018 for selling meat that was “no longer fit for consumption due to decomposition caused by bacteria and fungi, becoming unappetizing, poisonous, or infectious” at their restaurants: Asadero de Pollos Jandía, Los Porches, Grill Chez Luigi, and El Novillo Precoz, all based in Las Palmas.
The sentences were agreed after the defendants admitted the charges, and because of the delays in bringing the case to trial, an agreement was reached with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ratified on Tuesday by Criminal Court No. 6.
No impact on their businesses
According to judicial sources, the disqualification applies only to the handling and processing of food, not to the sale of meat products, meaning the owners can continue running their restaurants without their businesses being affected.
The same sentence has been handed down to sales representatives of Congelados La Ballena, the company that imported the meat in containers through the Port of Las Palmas and distributed it wholesale from its warehouse in El Sebadal.
Harsher penalties for company directors
The administrators and managers of Congelados La Ballena received stiffer sentences of one year and eight months in prison, fines of €1,620, and three-year bans for manipulating product labels and altering expiry dates.
However, none of the convicted individuals will serve prison time, as the sentences are under two years and have been suspended.
Share:
