Water, skin and tendons instead of meat: details of a high-profile investigation into stews in the Armed Forces
9 October 2024 13:28
It is known that the military constantly complain about the quality of food in the Armed Forces, which often does not meet the established standards. Another confirmation of this fact was found by NGL.media journalists, who in their investigation documented that instead of meat, the military receive canned meat with skin and tendons. According to the investigation, it is at least 11,000 cans of stew, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Dmytro Vlasenko, a command officer of one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces battalions, told reporters about systematic problems with the quality of food.
“The food we are supplied with is impossible to consume,”
– Vlasenko wrote, adding that the problem applies to all units of the Armed Forces, regardless of their location.
The journalists received samples of canned food supplied to the military from Vlasenko’s unit, tasted it and found it almost impossible to eat.
The journalists then ordered an examination of the canned food from the State Research Institute for Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise. The study found that the stewed pork produced by Menterika LLC did not comply with the state standard DSTU 4450:2005.
In particular, the mass fraction of meat with fat in the canned product is only 22.4% instead of the required 59%. At the same time, the composition contains coarse connective tissue (skin, tendons), which should not be present at all. More than 60% of the tin’s content is water.
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The investigation revealed a complex supply chain of substandard products. The manufacturer is Menterika LLC, the intermediary is Meilet Fast LLC, and the direct supplier to the Ministry of Defence is Trade Granit Invest LLC. The latter company has contracts with the Ministry of Defence worth almost UAH 7.5 billion.
Journalists found signs of falsification of quality documents. The manufacturer’s quality declaration states that the product meets the standards. Moreover, the quality of the canned food was also confirmed by army laboratories, in particular, military unit A3466, which issued a compliance protocol. However, this contradicts the results of an independent examination and raises doubts about the objectivity of product quality control for the Armed Forces.
According to the investigation, it is a batch of almost 11,000 525-gram cans of stewed pork worth a total of UAH 1.38 million. This huge amount of low-quality canned food was allowed to be supplied to the Armed Forces despite its obvious non-compliance with state standards.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has not commented on the situation, despite requests from journalists. Ihor Leshchenko, the head of the Central Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Defence, who is responsible for product quality control, also did not comment on the situation.
Meanwhile, the State Logistics Operator, which is responsible for supplying food to the Armed Forces, has classified its food procurement data for the first time.
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