January 10, 2007

Bulgarian dairy, meat firms undergo inspection for selling to EU

Bulgarian dairy and meat firms would now have a hard time trying to sell their products to the EU.

Only four Bulgarian companies, two dairies and two meat producers have filed applications to be granted a certificate for selling on the common European market.

The applicants would be subject to strict inspection by both Bulgarian authorities and the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), said the Agriculture Ministry.

There have been increasing concerns related to food safety in meat products exported by Bulgaria and Romania. This was one reason why Russia earlier threatened to ban meat imports from the EU. A few days before Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, on Jan 1, EU food safety experts announced some measures to restrict milk, meat and animal exports from the two nations.

Under the new measures, the dispatch of products to other member states has been restricted to those Bulgarian firms, which are currently authorised to export to the EU. These include 34 dairy and 26 meat companies of Bulgaria.

All meat and milk processing companies which have applied for approval would be inspected by the Bulgarian veterinary authorities between Jan 9 and 15. The approved ones would then undergo further inspection by the EU Food and Veterinary Office between Jan 22 and Feb 2.

A second FVO mission would evaluate border control of the import and transit of products of animal origin and livestock from Feb 15 to 26.