Appointed on January 21, 2022 at the head of the ANPC, Horia Constantinescu had a mandate of several months at the head of the ANPC and in 2019, at the proposal of the then PSD prime minister, Viorica Dăncilă.
Libertatea presents you the main scandals in which Horia Constantinescu was involved.
“Dyed chickens, infested with salmonella”
The head of ANPC warned on Wednesday, March 27, that some companies “paint” chicken meat to make it look better, the procedure being carried out during feeding, so that the paint cannot be washed off.
He said that the practice is misleading and added that on some farms, ANPC inspectors discovered salmonella.
“We are facing a serious attack on the safety of each one of us: yellowed chickens to look better, contaminated with dangerous strains of salmonella,” Constantinescu wrote on Facebook.
However, this was contradicted by Dănuţ Păle, the vice-president of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA).
“The yellow chick has been around since the bird appeared on earth. In this area, for some time, the method of growth has changed. Indeed, both natural pigments found in corn and alfalfa are used in feed recipes, as well as synthetic ones that give that yellow color, but which have been approved by the regulatory authority and are used in bird feed (… ) These are regulated things, normal things, probably now some institutions have discovered this”, he said, quoted by Agerpres.ro.
He harshly criticized Constantinescu’s statement. “It would be good for the specialist to have his say, even if we work in certain institutions with control rights, but we are not in the profile, it is good not to be surprised when we see a yellow chicken, that it was painted with Gallus egg dye “, pointed out the head of ANSVSA.
Later, Constantinescu came back and said that the feed is not toxic.
Tables at Ferma Dacilor
Another recent scandal in which Constantinescu was involved is the one related to the Ferma Dacilor guesthouse, in Tohani village, Prahova county. It burned down in a fire in December, and eight people died.
Constantinescu previously advertised the establishment on Facebook, being a friend of Cornel Dinicu, the owner of Ferma Dacilor.
However, the press reported that the guesthouse did not have fire and building permits.
The official said that the ANPC has no powers regarding their verification.
“From what I ate there and the promotion of Romanian products to the fire, only in the minds of some can connections be made. I don’t know how many of you, when you eat in a restaurant, ask for all the authorizations”, Constantinescu wrote on his Facebook page.
Pescobar and Taverna Cracilor: “Shrimp is happy”
In the autumn of last year, another scandal had the head of ANPC in the foreground.
This was filmed with the businessman Paul Nicolau, known as Pescobar, at the Taverna Racilor restaurant in Herăstrau Park in the capital.
The clip hit Instagram and came a month after ANPC found spoiled food and mess in the restaurant.
“Hello, dears, me, Pescobar, Paul Nicolau, together with Horia Constantinescu, at the new location Taverna Racilor, for a new beginning Taverna Racilor. I admit that, if it weren’t for their controls (ANPC – no), I wouldn’t have ended up having probably one of the best performing kitchens, at the moment, in Romania. Comparable to international chain kitchens because they come with other budgets, with other schools, but you also say that this is my opinion, Mr. Horia. Say your opinion as well, as an institution,” said Pescobar, according to Newsweek.
Constantinescu said then that “the shrimp is happy” and praised the place: “I said it earlier and I see that my colleagues also confirm this, the changes are radical, we were able to evolve from a freezing room to an ultra-performing one, a defrosting area. All things here are changed for the better. The shrimp, now, has signaled to us that it is happy, it wants to be fried here”.
Impossible rate calculation
Constantinescu also had disputes with Romanian banks. Under his command, ANPC fined 19 banks in our country in May 2023 on the charge that they miscalculated customer rates.
Initially, 11 banks were fined 550,000 lei, respectively ING, First Bank, Credite Europe, OTP Bank, Alpha Bank, Banca Transilvania, Raiffeisen, BCR, Patria Bank, Unicredit and BRD.
According to the institution, customers with loans from these banks had on the repayment schedule, in the first years, the compound rate of 25% of the principal balance to be repaid and 75% interest. Thus, banks would have forced customers to pre-pay the interest at the beginning.
Later, 8 other banks were sanctioned with 400,000 lei: Exim Bank, Procredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Techventures Bank (formerly Banca Comercială Feroviăra), Libra, CEC Bank, Garanti Bank and Vista Bank.
The banks in Romania strongly rejected the accusations and said that they fully comply with the legislation and stated that this method of calculation is carried out worldwide.
They let it be understood that ANPC has gaps in its understanding of economic terms.
The Council of Romanian Banking Trusts (CPBR) and the Romanian Bank Association (ARB) announced, in a joint statement, that “the payment of a higher interest at the beginning of the crediting period reflects an established economic and legal principle, namely that the interest is calculated at the value of the credit balance, which is obviously higher at the beginning of the period”, as Știrileprotv.ro wrote.
Verification of Russian affairs in Romania after the invasion of Ukraine
Finally, another episode occurred after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
ANPC then checked the business of Russian companies in Romania: Lukoil and Gazprom gas stations, plus the Berezka chain of Russian-specific stores.
In total, ANPC issued 1.4 million lei in fines at the time, with inspectors saying they found expired or improperly labeled products, dirty and rusty showcases, and freezers full of ice.
In an ANPC press release from February 28, 2022, Constantinescu said that “the terrible situation humanity is going through, at this moment, makes us all put our shoulders to any form of peace stabilization”.
Appreciated for your involvement
Sorin Mierlea, president of Infocons – an association that campaigns for consumer rights – says that Horia Constantinescu has revived ANPC’s activity, and now consumer protection is at the center of public attention.
“It was a revival of the institution like during the time of Mrs. Rovana Plumb (2001-2004, no). It was good for consumers, favorable laws were approved, such as the one that obliges restaurants to write the ingredients of the dishes on the menu. I would have been happy if he stayed at Consumer Protection, he had a major plus. It is very difficult to find someone as passionate and determined. Who would have ever thought in Romania that we would see multinational stores closed? Or closed gas stations?”, says Mierlea.
Valeriu Turcan: “The institution, taken as an individual”
Instead, the political consultant Valeriu Turcan says that the communication policy was highly personalized.
“The impression was created that the institution is being taken for granted. Obviously he had a goal, that of raising his public profile. Now, people have confirmation that the purpose was electoral, although this was somewhat suspected. But some limits have been crossed. Still pushing the accelerator, you inevitably run into the fence. In other countries, checks are done procedurally, without public exaggerations, without threats, and at the end the decision is announced,” said Turcan, for Libertatea.
He said that Constantinescu’s exaggerations are reminiscent of Russian raids against companies.
“On the matter of chicken, the exaggeration was maximum. The sanitary-veterinary standard is unique. So there’s no way it can be different here than in France, for example. If suspicions arise, the consequences immediately follow. Alerts, investigations, European restrictions. Let’s think about the destructive potential this subject has for the entire Romanian chicken meat industry”, he continued.
“No one abroad could think that it was an exaggerated statement, they will take the statement for granted and verified. Sir, if the head of ANPC also doubts, it means that there is a real problem. Only negative consequences can follow from such a thing. Trust is extremely hard to build and very easy to lose,” concludes Valeriu Turcan.
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Tags: Scandals Caused ANPC Chief Painted Chicken Happy Shrimps Consultant
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