Approximately two tonnes of pork meat potentially infected with the African swine fever virus and hundreds of eggs contaminated with the Salmonella typhimurium bacterium have been withdrawn from sale following inspections carried out by the Buzau County Directorate for Veterinary Health and Food Safety (DSVSA Buzau).
According to a press release from DSVSA Buzau, in September, veterinary health inspectors conducted checks on 425 economic operators across the entire supply chain, from production to retail. The inspections focused on whether general hygiene conditions, traceability requirements, food labelling practices and the risk profile of food business operators were being observed.
‘As a result of the inspections, the following non-compliances were identified: structural deficiencies, lack of health status checks, failure to monitor temperatures in refrigerated areas, labelling issues, as well as improper storage and handling of food products. As a consequence of these irregularities, 10 fines were issued, totalling 56,000 lei, along with 29 warnings. Additionally, 9.8 kilograms of food products of animal origin (fish, fish products and cow’s milk cheese) were confiscated following official inspections at a grocery store and a supermarket, due to labelling non-compliances and organoleptic alterations,’ DSVSA Buzau mentioned.
Moreover, over 300 samples of food products were collected to verify compliance with current legal regulations.
‘During the mentioned period, DSVSA Buzau responded to seven food alerts received via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, which led to the withdrawal and destruction of 318 eggs following the detection of Salmonella typhimurium. In the same period, DSVSA Buzau also responded to nine non-compliance notifications received via the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation System, resulting in the withdrawal from sale of 1,956 kilograms of pork potentially infected with African swine fever virus, 61 kilograms of fish with a non-compliant protein-to-water ratio, and 21.5 kilograms of honey with labelling deficiencies,’ the source added.
The health authority also carried out inspections regarding the health and welfare of animals. AGERPRES
