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Abstract
At the beginning of the year 2005 the German meat industry frequently
appeared in the media with reports about rotten meat. Since
then a huge number of new problems with meat have arisen which
have disclosed weaknesses in food quality control and highlighted
the extremely sensitive nature of the subject in the meat sector.
Contrary to the BSE crisis after which private control systems were
strengthened, the “rotten meat scandals” led to more state control.
Hence, no clear political direction is perceptible as to whether primary
responsibility for food safety should lie with the state or with
the industry. The following contribution examines this question with
regard to the presentation of this subject in the media. It is based on
the content analysis of 347 articles on the topic “rotten meat” which
were published in seven German newspapers. The empirical results
demonstrate that state actors have dominated the debate in the
media and have thus decisively contributed to the fact that the
primary responsibility for food security in Germany is assigned to
the government. Companies and organizations of the meat industry
have hardly ever appeared in the discussion.