There is an attempt at political influence during inspections by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA). This was stated in the studio of “This Saturday“ by the executive director of the agency, Dr. Angel Mavrovski.
“People in power are trying to influence – certain places not to be entered, not to be inspected or how the inspection should proceed. This cannot happen and I have warned the minister. These are not one-off cases," he explained, adding that there was a leak of information in the agency.
According to him, the inspection in Lesidren was carried out following a signal from citizens: "It was filmed, we were given information, our colleagues went to the site and found blood being shed illegally outside the site, scattered bones. They were given a prescription that they must comply with in order to function again." Mavrovski denied that the inspection had a political element. He explained that he was not aware that the company was connected to a candidate for MP from the BSP.
In the last 2 weeks, several slaughterhouses and meat processing companies have been closed. Inspections also showed illegal import of animals from Romania to our country, as well as areas with discarded animal carcasses. All this is happening against the backdrop of the approaching Easter holidays.
Mavrovski recommended that consumers, if they buy lamb from farms, look for established traders who comply with legal norms.
“If they buy from a store, they should monitor the freezing and thawing dates. There are cases in which frozen meat is mixed with fresh meat, although the price is quite different. If the meat is obtained from a slaughterhouse, they should look for the blue seal for Bulgarian meat. If there is no seal, the meat is of no origin“, explained Mavrovski.
According to him, the inspections currently underway in the country are routine, not campaign-like. He added that in some areas there is a nearly 70% failure rate of inspections at livestock facilities.
“Owners suddenly get sick, suddenly cross the border. These people draw pastures that limit the activities of real farmers, but the actual number of animals declared does not correspond. The previous administration had dropped a curtain on the VETIS information system, which shows what animals are in a given livestock facility“, added the executive director of the Bulgarian Food and Agriculture Organization.
He said that there are cases in which inspectors “enter“ with a drone to inspect, because no one allows them to the facilities. It turned out that a herd of 630 cattle had “lost“. According to him, the abuses amount to millions.