Over 19 tonnes and more than 28,000 litres of agricultural materials, including banned plant protection products and fertilizers, were seized from warehouses belonging to a large agricultural holding in Vardim, near Svishtov. The seized goods included items banned for use in Bulgaria, those lacking Bulgarian-language labeling, or those past their expiration dates. Inspectors from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) inspected three storage warehouses.
The Agency reported that only one facility was officially registered for the wholesale trade of such goods, while the other two operated without proper regulation. In the licensed warehouse, authorities discovered 17.5 tonnes and 510 litres of banned fertilizers lacking Bulgarian labels, alongside 530 litres of expired fertilizers. This same site also contained 49 tonnes of sugar from sugar beet labeled in Ukrainian.
Within the unregulated warehouses, inspectors found 10,380 litres and 1.875 tonnes of banned plant protection products without Bulgarian labels, in addition to 16,725 litres of expired substances. Furthermore, an additional 10 tonnes of sugar, stored in violation of safety regulations, were confiscated. The expired pesticides and fertilizers are slated for destruction, and all banned imported products will undergo further review by relevant authorities.
A final determination regarding the seized sugar has not been issued, though it is expected not to enter the retail market. Multiple agencies, including the National Police General Directorate and the National Customs Agency, have been notified of these violations. These BFSA inspections are part of Operation SILVER AXE, a coordinated effort involving Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office to curb the illegal import and distribution of unregistered pesticides and fertilizers across the EU.
Topics: #tonnes #banned #fertilizers
