Over 19 tonnes and more than 28,000 litres of agricultural products, including banned plant protection products and fertilizers, were seized from warehouses belonging to a large agricultural holding in Vardim, near Svishtov. The seized materials were found to be either banned for use in Bulgaria, lacking required Bulgarian-language labeling, or past their expiration dates. Inspectors from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) inspected three warehouses storing substantial quantities of these goods.
The BFSA reported that only one warehouse was officially registered for the storage and wholesale trade of such materials, while the other two operated without proper regulation. In the licensed facility, inspectors 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 beet sugar labeled in Ukrainian.
The unregulated warehouses yielded 10,380 litres and 1.875 tonnes of banned plant protection products without proper labeling, as well as 16,725 litres of expired substances. Furthermore, an additional 10 tonnes of sugar, stored in violation of safety regulations, were seized. Expired pesticides and fertilizers are scheduled for destruction, and all banned imported products will undergo further inspection by relevant authorities.
A final determination regarding the seized sugar has not been issued, but it is confirmed that the product will not be released to the retail market. Multiple agencies, including the National Police General Directorate and the National Customs Agency, have been notified of the violations. These BFSA inspections are part of Operation SILVER AXE, an initiative coordinated by Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office to combat the illegal import and distribution of unregistered pesticides and fertilizers within the EU.
Topics: #tonnes #banned #fertilizers
