“Some lots were pure horse; others, pure beef; others, mixed,” declared Noemí Alvarado, former Frigoinca worker and current key witness in the case Qali Warma. That contained the now famous cans of Don Simón, the Frigoinca brand, which was distributed to the poorest schools in at least eight regions in the country.
In Puno, La Libertad, Áncash, Lambayeque, Ayacucho, Ica, Madre de Dios and Piura, children enrolled in the school feeding program received this product, ate it and in some cities became poisoned.
Frigoinca hid well under the name of consortiums such as: Tasayco group, Copsa, Amazon consortiumamong others.
Yesterday, the Prosecutor’s Office raided Frigoinca’s office. In the first half of 2024 alone, Frigoinca was awarded – individually and as a consortium – contracts for more than S/88 million, according to a report by Latina.
In November 2023, the General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety (Digesa) sanctioned Frigoinca with a fine of 2 UIT for not having a validated HACCP Plan, this is a system that guarantees that the food we are going to consume is not harmful to health.
For their part, Deyvis Espinoza Mendoza and Alejandra Pazos Cribillero, both husbands, are accused of having each served from their entity, with the purpose of letting Frigoinca pass in exchange for S/ 215 thousand. According to the Sunday newspaper Punto Final, the couple would have received the money on different occasions, both through transfers and in envelopes.
The journalistic investigation details that Espinoza, from his position as a specialist in food and quality standards, was in charge of meetings with the company in question and Health directors, as well as with his own entity. But there were also others in which, together with manufacturers and producers, they shared information about the requirements of the products they had to deliver.
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According to Noemí Alvarado, Qali Warma officials received bribes for not reporting that Frigoinca’s food did not meet the requirements demanded by the aforementioned entity.
In the Cuarto Poder program, Alvarado demonstrated that beef was mixed or replaced with horse meat, and that the company Frigoinca, owned by Nilo Burga, used this product in the canned food it distributed.
The witness accused Víctor Salazar, former official of the Qali Warma program until December 2022, and Fredy Hinojosa Angulo, current spokesperson for the Presidency of the Republic, of being complicit in this alleged case of corruption, granting favors to Frigoinca.
Chats were even broadcast in which Noemí Alvarado requested bank transfers from the president of the Frigoinca board, Nilo Burga, who responded: “Coordinate with Delia,” referring to Delia Zavaleta Garay who appears in Sunat as general manager of the aforementioned company.
Perú21 tried to communicate without success with Noemí Alvarado, who indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office had the list of the consortiums that Frigoinca was part of.
As a result of this corruption scandal, the National Society of Industries suspended Frigoinca of his rights as a member of the union. But in the Government Palace they continue as if nothing had happened. Hinojosa is still presidential spokesperson, he is still at the president’s side and is the official voice of the government. Won’t you resign?
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