Food agency sends back 21 tons of North Macedonian apples over banned pesticide
Lab tests found a pesticide banned in the EU in the shipment. Near Varna, the agency also halted sales of over 130 tons of expired lentils and nearly 50 tons of unlabeled beans.
Symbolic image · Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has refused entry to the EU market for a shipment of 21,089 kilograms of apples from North Macedonia. Laboratory tests detected a pesticide that is banned for use in the European Union. The shipment will be returned to its country of origin. The agency did not name the substance.
The violation was found during stepped-up checks on fresh fruit and vegetables intended for the Bulgarian market. The agency recently also stopped more than 11 tons of peppers from North Macedonia over excessive pesticide residues. It said the checks would continue.
In a separate inspection, officials from the regional directorate in Varna found more than 130 tons of Canadian lentils past their expiry date in a wholesale warehouse. The same site held 49,775 kilograms of unlabeled beans that, according to company documents, came from Egypt. Both lots were banned from sale by order, and the economic police will be notified. Tips can be reported to the BFSA hotline at 0700 12 299.