Jordan Protests against Bulgaria's Return of Pesticide-Full Products

Bulgaria's Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, said he was preparing the country's official response to the protest note by Jordan. Photo by BGNES

Jordanian authorities have sent an official protest note to the Bulgarian Embassy to Amman in connection to the scandal with imported vegetables in Bulgaria, which contained more than 10 times above the allowed level of pesticides.

On Thursday, Bulgaria's Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov said he has talked to the Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov for Bulgaria's official response to the note.

"Although the harmful chemicals degrade, our country returned back the delivery because otherwise, the vegetables would have gone to the market. It is Jordan's responsibility to prevent the export of such products," Naydenov said.

On Monday, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency found pesticides up to 10 times more than allowed in tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, imported from Jordan.

Further checks of 18 batches of vegetables from Jordan showed that nine of them contained excessive amount of pesticides. A total of 108 tons of vegetables were banned and the five importing companies have been informed about the results.

On Thursday, the director of the Food Safety Agency, Yordan Voynov, advised consumers to wash thoroughly with water and peel fruits and vegetables.

"The harmful chemicals are only on the outside and not inside of fruits and vegetables, so washing and peeling would prevent the entering of pesticides in the body," he said.

However, he pointed out that the appearance, taste or smell or products cannot determine whether they contain pesticides. This is established only through laboratory research, he said.

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