Press Release

Following inaccurate information, which appeared on Sunday 24 February 2013, that Subotica Veterinary Institute jeopardised citizen safety and health, the company Victoria Group would hereby like to inform the public that:

• Veterinary Institute Subotica does not produce feed with meat-bone meal. This ingredient is exclusively used for the production of pet food (for dogs and cats), which can also be seen in the declarations of other pet food producers, in line with legal regulations (Articles 16 and 43-45 of the Rulebook on TSE, published in Official Gazette No. 96/2010).

• Meat meal imported from the European Union by Veterinary Institute Subotica is of turkey origin, not beef origin.

• All ingredients that Veterinary Institute Subotica uses in production, whether locally procured or imported, go through an internal quality control and inspection control process and possess all accompanying documentation, including documentation on the origin of the goods.

There is clear and accessible documentation, both company documentation and that of the relevant republic inspection authorities, for all the aforementioned information. The 31 December 2012 report of the Republic Veterinary Inspection of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Republic of Serbia confirms our statements on the correct use of raw materials in the production of animal feed.

Veterinary Institute Subotica operates in line with the legal regulations of the Republic of Serbia and has neither jeopardised nor will jeopardise the safety of its products and the safety of the citizens of Serbia in any way.

Veterinary Institute Subotica, like all other Victoria Group members, operates to the highest international standards and in line with the statutory legal regulations of the Republic of Serbia both in terms of the business processes themselves and in terms of product quality. Production processes in this company take place in line with: ISO standards, GMP+, IFS and HACCP, and products are exported to the markets of the European Union, CEFTA countries and Russia.

Victoria Group employs 1,800 employees in its 10 member companies. The company has invested over EUR200 million in Serbia in the last 10 years of doing business and cooperates with 40,000 farmers through 300 subcontractors. The company purchases raw materials from domestic producers from approximately 200,000 hectares of land, and then exports products of a higher processing phase to as many as 40 markets around the world, most of which are in the European Union. All taxes and contributions are paid regularly into the budget of the Republic of Serbia. Furthermore, the entire workforce, both direct employees and Victoria Group’s vast network of suppliers, is engaged in the territory of Serbia. Victoria Group pre-finances primary agricultural production in Serbia each year with over EUR100 million, as sowing assistance for farmers.