Fruit and vegetables on Bulgarian market checked for pesticides

The Bulgarian Agency for Food Safety will check fruit and vegetables that have been imported from Jordan, Macedonia and Turkey, to determine if they are of sufficient quality to be on the local market, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said on February 15 2011.
Inspectors will conduct the quality control across the country, probing samples from different places, especially on "markets and exchange depots," the report said.
The step was taken after vegetables and fruits on sale in the Sofia borough of Slatina reportedly had excessively high content of pesticides.
The probes will focus mainly, but not exclusively, on imported goods, because their quality control is uncertain, the report said. Additionally, imported vegetables and fruit are widely distributed on the local market.
Food safety authorities aim to create an environment of "discipline among the traders" and discourage them from trading in potentially dangerous merchandise, the report said.
By the middle of March, the Agency for Food Safety will set up 28 hotlines for consumers, where complaints can be filed, BNT said.