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Will the EU dare ban our Gyros and Kebab? #Free_Gyros

Hardly had the news that the European Union will ban Kebab and Gyros for food safety reasons, the hashtag #Free_Gryos became trendy in Greek Twitter where hundreds of Greeks added their own tzatziki sauce on the upcaming real or fake news ban.


“They have allows preservatives everywhere, they bomb little children, but the kebab matters to them.”


Now that we need Grexit, we lost Schaeuble


“I was never so scared in my life as when I read #free-gyros.”


“Virgin Mary, we will go underground, we’ll enter the hidden gyros grills using secret passwords. Will they ban gyros? Is that the Europe we want?”

The kebab and the gyros in Greece have come under scrutiny in the European Parliament, where MEP’s are worried about phosphates in the food that has grown to become a fast food staple across Europe.

Now gyros and doner kebab are at serious risk to be banned from our lunch and dinner tables, from the grill around the corner. A horror for Greeks and every European with respect to his taste buds.

The European Parliament’s Health Committee has raised objections to a proposal by the European Commission to allow the use of phosphates, including phosphoric acid, di and tri phosphates and polyphosphates, in kebab meat.

The move comes amid concerns raised in a 2012 scientific review over the possible link between phosphates when used as food additives and heart disease – but the evidence remains inconclusive.

EU rules normally prohibit the use of phosphate additives in meat preparation, where they are used to protect flavour and retain water, however there are exceptions.

Kebab eaters in Europe will now have to wait for the vote, due to take place during the Parliament’s Dec. 11 to 14 plenary session in Strasbourg, to find out whether their favorite kebab shops will be serving up sandwiches with the same juicy texture and flavor that keeps them coming back for more.

Late on Friday and after the horrifying news reached Greece and all kebab lovers across Europe, the European Commission dared say that it does not plan to ban the Kebab and the Gyros, name it however you want to. In fact, the EC dismissed the news as such.

EC spokesperson for Health and Food Safety Anca Panduraru dismissed the news on an upcoming ban and told Greek website real.gr that it was the Commission that has recently recommended and approved the use of the so-called phosphates in the meat preparation and that the member states have approved the Commission’s proposal unanimously.

Therefore, the European Union, as legally represented by its executive arm (the Commission) and the Member States themselves, has approved this substance, and in no case “is thinking of banning the kebab or gyros.

“Indeed, we have seen media reports on the use of phosphates in food / EU to ban the kebab. Let’s be clear. The EU does not prohibit the kebab.  Our role is to make food safe, “she said adding that the European Parliament will also give its own opinion on the matter in January, she added.

After the EC news, a Greek wrote on Twitter:


“We are winning!”

It should be noted that the Greens in EP have said that food controls have shown that phosphates are being used in deep frozen meat to be use din kebab and gyros and that this substance is dangerous for health if it is cooked and warmed again.

On a Greek TV report at prime time news, I saw a worker at a gyros/kebab grill saying “no, gyros and the meat is not unhealthy.”

Later Friday evening, state broadcaster ERT reported the Federation of Greek Meat Processor Industry said in a statement that phosphates are not used in the meat preparation in Greece.

The alleged ban was spread by German tabloid Bild.

PS I remember some ages ago, the EU wanted to ban kokoretsi,the grilled delicacy consisting of intestines. They didn’t dare.

On the occasion I’m going to order a spicy, juicy

even though I’m not a big fan.

And then I’ll smoke a cigarette – or is it also banned?

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8 comments

  1. Martin Baldwin-Edwards

    I fail to understand why banning dangerous chemicals being used in food is a bad idea. is it because Greek kebab shops would have to take more care of refrigerating their meat instead of leaving it out overnight to rot? Or is it merely the usual Greek opposition to scientific and social progress?

  2. Really? I can assure you the Greeks know how to care for meat products. You think the answer must be one of your two brilliant conclusions? How about the European unon is a nanny government that likes to control and micro manage it’s agenda on every one who foolishly signed up.It has nothing to do with the gyro or kebab. If the Greeks don’t like something, they are quite capable of protesting and making change within without any help from the strong arm of the EU

  3. “Meanwhile, I hear that it was German media spreading the fake news and thus the tabloid newspaper Bild.”

    Another conspiracy against Greece?
    FWIW Döner Kebab is the “biggest” takeaway food in Germany. And the news was specifically about Döner Kebab in Germany. They didn’t mention Gyros at all (from what I have seen on Dutch news outlets (tv/tabloids))
    They mentioned all kinds of sausages though, like Salami and Chorizo.
    Food from different countries.
    :s

  4. They shouldn’t ban kebab or gyros per se, but they should ban certain ingredients and additives. It is true, most gyros I eat in Greece are awful quality. God knows what they have inside !

    I generally have good quality Kalamaki, much safer !

  5. The fake news is that you (KTG) suggest that they want to ban Gyros and Kebab.
    Which isn’t true.
    They want to ban the high level of phosphates in Gyros, Kebab (and other food stuff which has added phosphates as a preservative).
    But hey, like i said. it must be a conspiracy against Greece…
    Let’s call it “Flake news” (as in Gyros and Kebab flakes…)

  6. Kein Grund für Döner-Panikmache
    “An der bestehenden Rechtslage in Europa und Deutschland ändert sich erst einmal gar nichts. Dönerspieße können wie bisher produziert und verkauft werden. Niemand muss auf seinen Döner oder Gyros verzichten”, erklärt Susanne Melior, SPD-Europaabgeordnete im Ausschuss für Umweltfragen, öffentliche Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit.
    Der Umweltausschuss hatte sich gegen eine Änderung der Lebensmittelzusatzstoff-Verordnung ausgesprochen. Diese sah vor, eine Reihe von Phosphaten für die Verwendung bei tiefgefrorenen Dönerspießen freizugeben, ohne die Ergebnisse laufender Studien abzuwarten. Derzeit ist die Rechtslage bei tiefgefrorenen Dönerspießen europaweit uneinheitlich. In Deutschland sind Phosphate erlaubt – und zwar auch nach dem Votum des Ausschusses. #dönergate #fakenews

    http://www.euronews.com/2017/11/30/kebab-panic-eu-objection-to-phosphate-threatens-germany-s-beloved-kebabs

    This is a tweet from the SPD which clearly says (if you can read German that is….) that NOTHING will change.
    Even AFTER the EU commission votes for it and regardless of the outcome.

    “The suggestion by the Greens and Social Democrats that phosphate additives could create a health hazard is ridiculous and is more a fear mongering. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rates intake of up to 4200 mg of phosphate per day as safe. A portion of döner contains only 134 mg phosphate,”

    NOTHING will change.

    While health experts disagree over the credibility of the recent phosphate findings, nearly all agree that a high intake of phosphate can be hazardous to one’s health. But where the line is drawn on what exactly is considered hazardous will be debated—and eventually decided on—by EU politicians.

    #flakenews #dönnerknowwhatrealnewsis