The Ministry of Agriculture has made an official response regarding mandarin cargoes from Albania that have not been accepted by several European Union countries due to the pesticides used, which have not been used for years and are considered dangerous.
In the announcement of the ministry, it is reported that for the year 2024, 924 trucks with tangerines were exported to the European market and only 3 of them were returned for the irregularities mentioned above.
According to the ministry, where the report cannot damage the work and sweat of Albanian farmers and create panic among citizens.
"According to the notification of the Rapid Notification System for Food and Animal Feed - RASFF for pesticide residues in tangerines exported from the Republic of Albania, the AKU has taken immediate measures for traceability and procedural actions on the exporting subjects by taking concrete measures and actions to dispose of 20,482 kg of clementine mandarins, on 19.12.2024, in the County of Fier, a load which has been returned back from the state of Croatia. The disposal procedure was carried out together with the presence of the National Environment Authority, the Tax Directorate, as well as with the presence of several different media.
In cooperation with the National Veterinary and Plant Protection Authority, on 19.12.2024, joint inspections and evidence were carried out in the Mursi Village of Konispol Municipality, where one of the farmers, who had destroyed the tangerine product, practices cultivation. For the collecting subjects that resulted in violation of the legal provisions, in addition to criminal charges, according to the violations, administrative fines and blocking of activity were also taken. To follow up on the following situation, joint inspections were carried out every day in Berat district, Dimal Municipality.
We inform the consumer regarding the other two shipments, reported by the state of Croatia for pesticide residues according to the notification of the RASFF system, that one has been destroyed in the Croatian state, while the other has not yet returned to the country of origin. All PIKs have been notified that in the event of the product being returned, it will be immediately blocked and disposed of.
The National Food Authority continues the controls in the entities that trade Plant Protection Products and Fertilizer Products, where only for this week 46 PMB trading entities were checked and verified, in which no violations of legal provisions were found. Controls continue without interruption at trading points, points of collection and storage of fruits and vegetables, where in addition to the 18 samples defined in the pesticide monitoring plan for the month of December, for the tangerine product, with the aim of keeping the situation under control, 7 more were taken. other samples outside the plan, for analysis at the Reference Laboratory - ISUV", is written, among others, in the Ministry's response to the tangerines issue.
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MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
