After nationwide seizures by police, Germany is planning tougher rules against fraudsters who re-label meat that is past its sell-by date and wholesale it as fresh, dpa reported. The most populous German state, North Rhine Westphalia, said Wednesday it would appoint prosecutors solely to investigate the cheats and bring them to justice. State consumer affairs minister Eckhard Uhlenberg told the newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten he had met justice officials to delegate prosecutors to the work. The states met Tuesday in Bonn with federal officials to discuss stepping up the battle. Hundreds of tons of meat at wholesale warehouses have been seized around Germany in recent weeks. Danish authorities said Wednesday they had traced and seized 19 tons of bacon and other meat products imported from Germany and offered for sale past their sell-by date. --more 1427 Local Time 1127 GMT
