The Acting Minister of Agriculture Ivan Hristanov and the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency Angel Mavrovski announced the discovery of a channel for smuggled import and illegal processing of meat in the Ihtiman region.
According to Minister Hristanov, the region is emerging as one of the main places through which smuggled goods enter the country. In recent days, several trucks with small cattle have been detained, which are currently on the Romanian border.
During on-site inspections, BFSA and Ministry of Interior officials found fresh animal waste, bones and several locations used for slicing and cutting meat. According to the authorities, the production was probably distributed from there to as yet unknown points in the country.
„We wonder why no one has noticed these places until now. We found large amounts of animal waste, accumulated for at least a year“, said Minister Hristanov. He stressed that there are doubts that some of this meat has already reached the Bulgarian market.
According to him, the situation poses serious risks to the health of animals and people, especially against the backdrop of the outbreaks of small ruminant pox in Romania, where many herds have been destroyed in recent months.
„Bulgarian producers comply with dozens of rules and laws, and at the same time someone is dumping contraband meat on the market, risking the health of people and animals“, added Hristanov. He announced that a joint press conference with the Minister of the Interior and representatives of the police will be convened on Monday, at which specific measures to curb illegal activities will be proposed.
The Bulgarian Food and Drug Administration (BFSA) specified that during one of the actions at the Romanian border, a truck with 25 small ruminants and 2 large ruminants was detained. Laboratory tests are being carried out on the case.
“In the Ihtiman region, we found a field strewn with Romanian animal ear tags. The detained truck has a Polish registration and does not have the necessary permit for transporting animals“, announced the executive director of the agency, Angel Mavrovski.
According to him, ear tags from different regions of the country were also found, including from Velingrad, which indicates the movement of animals through different regions and, accordingly, the risk of the spread of diseases such as smallpox and plague in animals. Similar cases of illegal transportation of lambs have also been identified on the Greek border.
Despite the tension on international markets caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the acting minister assured that this will not affect the lamb market in Bulgaria. “We will not allow price speculation“, said Ivan Hristanov.