Bulgarian Food Safety Agency put a ban on 200 tonnes of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, imported from Jordan, announced Minister of Agriculture and Food Miroslav Naydenov.
After the BFSA’s first check conducted at the wholesale market in Sofia's Slatina Borough. Pesticides in excess of the safety levels were found in some 200 tonnes of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers imported from Jordan. The tomatoes contained 10 per cent excess, the cucumbers 6 per cent, and the peppers double to treble the permissible concentration of two types of pesticides, Minister Miroslav Naydenov said. Currently, the only option is the whole production to be destroyed, added Minister Naydenov. Another option is the vegetables to be returned to Jordan, but this is impossible because it is prepaid. "We want to help importers not to suffer huge losses, but not at consumers’ expense" highlighted Minister Naydenov. He added that the main purpose is to protect consumers so that these pesticides not to reach the table.Higher quantities of pesticides accumulate in the liver and are harmful to young children and pregnant women, explained Deputy Director of the BFSA Tencho Tenev. The agency has informed European Commission about the case because so far Jordan has not been included in the list of countries for compulsory testing of vegetable imports into the European Union, said the other Deputy Director of the BFSA Anton Velichkov.