Bulgaria's food safety agency (BABH) stopped 41 shipments carrying more than 231 tonnes of goods from non-EU countries at border checkpoints in October, it said. In the same month it filed 33 notifications to RASFF, the European Commission's rapid alert system for food and feed.
A month earlier, in September, it turned back 46 shipments with more than 204 tonnes of goods, BTA noted.
The rejected shipments include products of non-animal origin. Peppers, tomatoes, pomegranates and lemons were refused entry because they had pesticide residues above the legal limit. Dried figs were stopped over contamination with ochratoxin A and aflatoxins.
In checks on plant goods, known as phytosanitary control, inspectors sent back fruit and vegetables that failed the identity check. They also returned a shipment of wooden packaging that lacked the mark required by International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15), which sets the rules for wooden packaging in international trade.
Among goods of animal origin, fish products were rejected because their documents failed the check. The same happened to a shipment of milk chocolate and hazelnut bars, which failed both the document check and the identity check.
BABH said its checks are continuous. They aim to keep food and feed that break the rules, or may be unsafe, out of the EU. In this way the agency protects food safety along the supply chain and protects consumers.
The "Border Control" directorate at the agency's head office checks the approved border checkpoints in Bulgaria. It is in charge of veterinary and phytosanitary control. It also enforces temporary stepped-up checks and emergency measures on food and feed of non-animal origin imported into the EU.