Contaminated Turkish Potatoes Seized at Bulgarian Border

A dangerous potato load has been seized by Bulgarian authorities on the Bulgarian – Turkish border after a test has shown that the potatoes might be dangerous for human health.

About 20 tons of potatoes will be kept in a special storage place until the results of the second test come out.

The Food Safety Agency assures consumers that the potatoes will not reach any store in the country.

Turkish potatoes are the most probed produce at the Bulgarian side of the border since several years ago a boom of deceases causes by contaminated potatoes was registered in Turkey. There was even a temporary ban on them to be imported by Bulgaria, and now there is a partial one for risk regions producing potatoes.

Turkish peppers and tomatoes are also frequently tested for pesticides. The samples are sent to Sofia and the results come out in several days. Only 10% of the loads with produce entering Bulgaria are tested on the random principle under the guidelines of the European Commission. This means that 3 000 truckloads have been tested in Bulgaria in 2012, which the health authorities deem more than sufficient to insure safety.

53 dangerous loads have been stopped at the border with Turkey and over 1 metric ton of peppers and tomatoes containing pesticides have been destroyed.