class=”sc-29f61514-0 dXbCZE”>
All this is reminiscent of the scandal surrounding Graubunden meat company Carna Grischa that shook Switzerland in 2014. At that time the company at Landquart GR was promoting foreign meat as Swiss meat on a large scale. And accordingly it was converted into money. In simple restaurants and school canteens. But also in luxury restaurants in Zurich.
It seems some butchers have learned little from this. There is no other way to describe the case in the Weinfelden TG district court. According to the statement of the high court, the defendant, father and son, imported at least 95 tons of meat from abroad between the end of May 2018 and the end of April 2019 and declared it together with Swiss meat. And it is sold in butcher shops. In front of a poster with the slogan “We only sell Swiss meat.”
The reason for the duo’s actions was this: Between May 2018 and April 2019, Swiss veal and beef were in short supply. So we just ordered what was available. This was meat from Austria, France, the Netherlands and Uruguay and therefore definitely not “Swiss Guaranteed”.
No business fraud
That’s brave. Because: The main ingredient of the sausage products declared with the “Swiss Garantie” label from the butcher with branches in the cantons of Zurich and Thurgau must actually consist of 100 percent Swiss meat.
The defendants had previously been convicted by the Weinfelden District Court for commercial use of a warranty or collective trademark in violation of the regulations. They received suspended sentences of 11 and 13 months in prison, as well as suspended fines and fines.
However, the prosecutor’s office requested a conviction for commercial fraud and sent the decision to a higher court. The Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict regarding the unlawful use of a warranty or collective mark for commercial purposes. However, the high court also annulled the conviction for fraud.
Equal quality processed meat
It was not established that “the goods were objectively of a lesser value than correctly labeled goods.” According to the statement, the high court argued that there was no financial loss for customers because the defendants processed meat of the same quality.
It can be assumed that if the defendants offered the products for sale correctly and therefore without the “Swiss Garantie” label, customers would purchase the products at the same price and in the same size.
During the appeal process, the defendant agreed to pay a five-figure sum to the owner of the warranty stamp, and the owner of the warranty stamp no longer had any interest in punishing the defendant. Because of this compensation and because “there is no significant public interest in the sentence”, the high court decided not to impose a penalty.
The defendant must bear the costs of the trial. The decision is not yet legally binding. (pbe/SDA)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
