Last year, Bulgarian border checkpoints halted a record amount of lemons, 1,000 tonnes, and over 100 tonnes of peppers with pesticide residues, reported the deputy director of the Bulgarian Agency for Food Safety (NVS), Anton Velichkov.
In 2016, the EU prevented the import of tonnes of fruit with pesticides, mainly oranges and grapefruit from South Africa, Italy, Argentina and Turkey. Excessive MRLs were found mostly in Turkish lemons and red peppers, stated Anton Velichkov.
In 98% of cases, the products are not toxic, but contain chemicals at levels above the permissible limits, and as an external border of the EU, Bulgaria is obliged to control the import of risky fruits and vegetables. The list of goods subject to additional controls, drawn up by Brussels, is updated every six months. Every tenth truck has to be checked, although for lemons and pomegranates, checks are stricter, with 20% of consignments inspected.
