Three containers of Brazilian frozen beef detained in Bar after expiry-date labels replaced

Three refrigerated containers carrying frozen beef from Brazil and destined for Kosovo were stopped at the port of Bar after Montenegrin customs officers discovered that the original declarations showing expired use-by dates had been removed and replaced with forged labels bearing altered dates.

According to the customs statement, the shipment was intended for a buyer from Kosovo identified only as "A….ShpK". The Customs Administration of Montenegro says the containers had been taken out of customs supervision without authorization.

Inspection uncovered label tampering in cold storage

During further checks at a cold-storage facility in the port area, customs officers found workers hired by a company from Kosovo who, using tools, were removing the original declarations that listed the expired dates and fitting new declarations with changed expiry information.

Montenegrin customs immediately notified the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs and the police. Those institutions have opened an investigation and are continuing inquiries into the case.

Customs officials also reported that, based on available information, certain meat-processing companies in Montenegro obtain supplies from a legal entity in Kosovo linked to the shipment. Authorities are now checking whether and to what extent products from that supplier were previously distributed.

So far there is no official confirmation that meat from the three detained containers reached consumers in Kosovo.

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