According to laboratory tests, the canned pork that Ukrainian soldiers were supplied with contained only 22.4% of meat instead of 59% as required.
According to an investigation by NGL.media, Ukrainian soldiers are receiving substandard canned products.
The investigation, which was released on 7th October, was a result of numerous complaints by Ukrainian soldiers about the poor quality of canned food in combat units.
It’s not the only time that a scandal has erupted in the Armed Forces. Journalists revealed in 2023 that the ministry had ordered jackets and food at inflated prices from a Turkish firm connected to a Ukrainian legislator’s family.
Dmytro Valasin, an officer from one of the battalions that fight in the Pokrovsk directions, told journalists the problem of poor quality products was “global” to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“These are centrally supplied [of products], everybody receives them. Wherever we are, we receive this muck,” Vlasenko stated.
According to NGL.media laboratory tests performed on canned pork produced by LLC Menterika (a company that produces canned food) showed that the products did not meet national standards. The meat and fat content of the cans was only 22,4%, instead of the required amount of 59%. The cans contained skin, tendons and ligaments which should not have been present.
Vlasenko said that the skin of animals and water are not as tasty and do not have the same taste.
Several other servicemen, from different branches of military, anonymously confirmed Vlasenko’s statements about the canned goods‘ poor quality.
The Ministry of Defense said that it had prevented the supply of nearly 340 tons of dangerous and low-quality products to Ukraine’s Armed Forces. This included over 240 tonnes of canned beef and pork. Vlasenko, however, told journalists that soldiers received low-quality canned products in almost every weekly shipment.
NGL.media reported that the batch of almost 11,000 525 gram cans cost 1.38 million hryvnias (about $34,000). The manufacturer’s declaration of quality states that the product has passed inspection in one of the labs of the Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine Department of Ministry of Defense. When journalists asked the Ministry of Defense for a copy of a test protocol, they did not receive a response.
Volodymyr Martinynenko, the director of LLC Menterika assured journalists that the examinations confirmed the product’s quality but refused to provide documentation.
Colonel Oleksandr Fidyna headed the Central Quality Control Department of Ministry of Defense up until the end of 2023. His resignation was likely due to the scandal surrounding the low-quality Turkish jackets used by the Armed Forces.
Read More @ euromaidanpress.com