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AHV: We know, but it is not ethical to reveal who the exporter of Macedonian cabbage to Croatia is

While the Croatians pointed out that their inspectors ordered the entire shipment to be destroyed at the border, Agriculture Minister Cvetan Tripunovski claims that our analysis conducted at the cabbage producer showed that no such preparation was used.

The Food and Veterinary Agency does not disclose whether the pesticide imidaclopirid is legally imported into Macedonia, nor which company is the exporter, after the Croatians returned a contingent of cabbage to us, due to detected pesticide residues. And while the Croatians pointed out that even at the border, their inspectors ordered the entire shipment to be destroyed, the Minister of Agriculture, Cvetan Tripunovski, claims that our analysis conducted at the cabbage producer showed that such a preparation was not used. Tripunovski said that he did not know whether this was some kind of mistake by the Croatian border controls, but he was categorical that no such illegal pesticides were found in Macedonia with the indicated farmer, nor did the analyses show the use of prohibited substances.

– In the notification received through the EU Rapid Alert System for Unsafe Food (RASFF), the company that exported the disputed cabbage to the Croatian market, in which pesticide residues were detected, is known. As before, for ethical reasons, the Food and Veterinary Agency does not identify the name of the exporting company when releasing information to the public – the AHV pointed out to "Sloboden Pechat".

The pesticide imidaclopyrid is banned in the EU, and 0,029 mg/kg of this agent was found in a sample of Macedonian vegetables that were supposed to end up in Croatian stores, Danica.hr reported. Fortunately, everything happened at the Croatian border, so inspectors immediately ordered the destruction of the entire shipment of fresh Macedonian cabbage. The EU Commission decision banned the use of imidaclopyrid on all crops grown outdoors.

– After receiving the RASFF notification, the inspection services of the Food and Veterinary Agency conducted a surveillance at the food operator exporting agricultural products. After checking the documentation, the producers from whom the cabbage was purchased were identified, after which the powers for further control were transferred to the State Inspectorate for Agriculture, which was immediately notified of the notification and which carried out the further procedure – say the AHV.

Previously, Minister of Agriculture Cvetan Tripunovski said that their analysis conducted at the cabbage producer showed that such a preparation was not used.

– The shipment returned from Croatia was immediately intervened, it was checked who the manufacturer was, who the exporter was. Additional controls were carried out through the Agricultural Inspectorate, samples were taken from the exported vegetable fruit. The analyses performed turned out to be negative, i.e. they showed that such a preparation was not used in agricultural crops – said Tripunovski.

Minister Tripunovski said that he did not know whether this was a mistake by Croatian border controls, but categorically stated that no such illegal pesticides were found in Macedonia with the farmer in question, nor did the analyses show the use of prohibited substances.
This is not the first case where Croatians have returned vegetables to us due to the presence of pesticides.

Three shipments of vegetables imported from Macedonia with dangerous pesticides in 2023 were discovered in Croatia, and one in the previous year. Because of this, the shipments did not pass the control at the Croatian border, and on the RASFF website they were marked as "potentially risky" for the health of citizens. The last such case was recorded on February 19, 2024. It was a mixed salad that contained chlorpyrifos, a pesticide hazardous to health, which, according to the latest research published on the pages of the RASFF system, if consumed, can contribute to impaired brain development in children, as well as increased hyperactivity. The amount of chlorpyrifos detected in the shipment in question was 0,055 milligrams per kilogram, and the permitted amount of this pesticide in a certain product according to European standards is zero. The case was also confirmed by the Macedonian authorities.

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