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22 tonnes of food per day rejected at Kapitan Andreevo border crossing over high pesticides content

Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint
Photo: BGNES

The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency has approached the Prosecutor's Office and Organized Crime Police because of established drastic violations in the controlling procedures at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the border with Turkey, which has been carried out in the last 10 years by a private company.

This was announced by the director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency Hristo Daskalov and the deputy minister of agriculture Ivan Hristanov.
In 2021, on average, 6 tonnes of food were rejected per day, and at the moment, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency rejects 22 tonnes of food per day due to an increased content of pesticides, Ivan Hristanov announced at a press conference in BTA, who presented up-to-date information on the results of inspections of the phytosanitary, health and veterinary control at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint.

The scandal with Kapitan Andreevo erupted after a recording of an offered bribe to the director of the agency, Hristo Daskalov, was released. 

As of May 20, the state has fully taken over the phytosanitary controls at the border checkpoint.

The checkpoint at Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo and Kapikule on the Turkish side is the busiest road border crossing in Europe, as it is also the entry point for the largest amount of Turkish goods entering the EU. 

"With every remaining hour of our rule, we are taking back control of the European border at Kapitan Andreevo. We are working hard to restore the rule of law, economic prosperity and economic stability in Bulgaria, control over the quality of food and restore the health of Bulgarian citizens", commented outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on Facebook.


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