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Tangerines with pesticides, the Ministry of Agriculture remembers to react: Out of 924 trucks, 3 were caught with irregularities! Criminal charges against the violators

2024-12-23 09:13:26Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Tangerines with pesticides, the Ministry of Agriculture remembers to react: Out

The Ministry of Agriculture has issued an official response after the EU blocked several shipments of Albanian mandarins, which contained banned pesticides used by growers.

The Ministry of Agriculture's response:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development encourages the consumption of Albanian products for the end-of-year holidays and beyond. For 2024, over 85% of Albanian tangerine production was harvested and sold on the domestic and international markets, and in no case from all the controls and analyses carried out have pesticide residues been found. Today, tangerine cultivation extends to over 1,000 ha by market farmers and smaller producers.

Regarding the media debate on the quality and safety situation of Albanian mandarins following previous communications in official statements of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, we clarify to the public that:

For the year 2024, 924 trucks of Albanian mandarin cultivation and harvest were exported to the European and global markets, of which only 3 loads of the total were found to have irregularities for waste and were destroyed. This report should not damage the hard work and sweat of a year of production of Albanian farmers and at the same time create concern and panic among consumers.

According to the notification of the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed - RASFF for pesticide residues in mandarins exported from the Republic of Albania, the AKU has taken immediate measures for traceability and procedural actions on exporting entities by taking concrete measures and actions to destroy 20,482 kg of clementine mandarins, on 19.12.2024, in the Fier Region, a shipment that was returned by the state of Croatia. The destruction procedure was carried out together with the presence of the National Environmental 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 records were carried out in the Mursi Village of the Municipality of Konispol, where one of the farmers carries out cultivation activities, who had destroyed the mandarin product. For the collecting entities that resulted in violations of legal provisions, in addition to criminal charges being filed, administrative measures such as fines and blocking of activity were also taken according to the violations. In order to follow the ongoing situation, joint inspections were carried out every day in the 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 RASFF system notification, that one has been destroyed in the state of Croatia, while the other has not yet been returned to the country of origin. All BIPs have been notified that in the event of a return of the product, it will be immediately blocked for destruction.

The National Food Authority continues its inspections of entities that trade in Plant Protection Products and Fertilizer Products, where this week alone 46 entities trading in PPPs have been inspected and verified, in which no violations of legal provisions were found. Inspections continue uninterruptedly at points of sale, collection and storage points for fruits and vegetables, where in addition to the 18 samples specified in the pesticide monitoring plan for the month of December, for the mandarin product, in order to keep the situation under control, 7 other samples outside the plan have been taken, for analysis at the Reference Laboratory - ISUV.

The annual inspection in the territory by the NFA to date includes 806 inspections for the trade of pesticides and 862 inspections for fertilizer products. For 2024, a total of 188 samples were analyzed, of which 28 for pesticides, of which 27 have resulted in compliance, while 1 is in the process of analysis. For fertilizer products, 160 samples have been analyzed, of which 24 are in the process of analysis, 134 have resulted in compliance and 2 non-compliance samples, for which traceability has been followed and all measures have been taken according to the legislation in force.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved and is implementing the Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, which includes the entire chain of action with central structures and subordinate institutions, without excluding the support of the Agricultural University of Tirana, as well as Albanian producers. The purpose of this Action Plan is the proper and safe use of PPPs, for the protection of plant health to guarantee quality and safe production for the consumer, as well as the protection of the environment where they are used.

Thanks to the work of the structures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, this year the territory of the Republic of Albania was protected and kept clean from Peste de Pes Ruminants, even though border countries experienced outbreaks and colossal damage. The cases of Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever were managed immediately and efficiently and without harming the epizootic situation in the country.

Meanwhile, ongoing work has continued to raise awareness about the production of biologically pure products through biological warfare, which also comes with a fiscal incentive. The strict use of protocols and the prohibition of the use of banned pesticides in European Union countries is a fact. It is required that even those few farmers who attempt to illegally use them understand that this method has only one option: detection and prosecution, as controls and traceability are very high. Albanian farmers, producers, collectors and exporters must cooperate to implement best agricultural practices throughout the production chain, all the way to the consumer.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is transparent and has published on its official website, the list of PPPs and labels for use, as well as the list of fertilizer products, which are constantly updated, making it clear to farmers not to use smuggled products that are prohibited in EU countries and in our country. Farmers, every user or consumer has the possible access to obtain complete information not only on the use, but also the consequences of their misuse.

We call on you to report any cases of illegality, irregularity or abuse that you find to the numbers published on the official websites of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security or subordinate institutions, to become part of the shared responsibility in guaranteeing and maintaining food security in the country.


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