The Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF), the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and the Ministry of Interior are launching a joint campaign "Clean Food". The campaign has no deadline and will be very intense around Easter and St. George's Day, and will continue after that. This was stated at a media briefing by the acting Minister of Agriculture and Food Ivan Hristanov, reported by BTA.
According to him, the goal is to show that the state is a guarantor, as well as to neutralize any opportunities for the spread of diseases among Bulgarian animals.
Khristanov pointed out that horrific pictures were discovered in Ihtiman - after a series of illegal activities, illegally imported meat was cut up and ended up on our tables.
We found the outlines of a large-scale scheme of smuggling, distribution and cutting up meat. We believe that this was the main reason for the small ruminant disease last year. This raises the question of what we eat, Khristanov added.
According to him, it is amazing that this problem has not been noticed for years and that it is either a matter of strong indifference or some kind of umbrella. It is obvious that the inspectors of both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Internal Affairs can do a great job when there is a much bolder and more objective political leadership, Khristanov added.
Information about the illegal import of animals from Romania to Bulgaria, about an illegal slaughterhouse discovered on the territory of Ihtiman and about locations for disposing of the remains of slaughtered animals was presented on site a few days ago by the acting Minister of Agriculture and Food Ivan Hristanov and the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), Dr. Angel Mavrovski.