Food is controlled: Over half a million kilograms destroyed this year in Kosovo

2023-09-12 15:10:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Food and Veterinary Agency of Kosovo (AUV) ensures that every product on the market - whether local or imported - is checked.

Suspicious products, according to the spokesperson Lamir Thaçi, are removed from the market, checked and eventually destroyed.

On September 9, "Oath of Justice" - a specialized program on the rule of law in Kosovo - broadcast its own research, based on which, a European Union state has detected the presence of the carcinogenic chemical - acrylamide - in a series of Kosovar product, Vipa Chips.

According to this research, the suspicious product was detected during transit to the designated destination and was destroyed.

Speaking for Radio Evropa, e Lire, Thaçi says that this case dates back to June.

He adds that the suspicious series of Vipa Chips, which was also present in the Kosovo market, has been removed and destroyed.

"These are food incidents that happen not only here, but all over the world. It is important that the authority takes action. I believe that we have taken the actions at the right time, as the law provides", says Thaçi.

REL contacted the Pestova company, which produces the Vipa Chips product, but its leaders did not want to comment.

In a statement sent to the media at the weekend, the company said, among other things, that its products "continue to be safe" and "to be present in the market, in all the countries where it exports".

Food is controlled: Over half a million kilograms destroyed this year in Kosovo

Food experts, on the other hand, recommend citizens to always read the nutritional values ??on packaged products, as well as the expiration date.

How are products checked?

The spokesperson of AUV, Lamir Thaçi, says that in the period January-August of this year, the agency destroyed over 500 thousand kilograms of suspicious products in the market of Kosovo.

According to him, they included: meat, milk, plant-based products, cookies, vegetables, drinks and others.

Destruction takes place when products do not pass safety tests - whether due to the presence of various substances or storage at inappropriate temperatures.

AUV inspectors carry out continuous checks of goods at border points, customs terminals and businesses, despite the fact that, as Thaçi says, their number is small compared to the number of tens of thousands of businesses.

"The field of food safety is complex and requires daily commitment, because products can change their condition. For food safety, there are not even 100 inspectors and this number is small", says Thaçi.

He explains that samples for product testing are made in three laboratories that Kosovo has for this purpose. In certain cases, he adds, the authorities also cooperate with laboratories from the countries of the region and the European Union.

"It is always decided to dispose of suspicious products, while against the economic operator who has placed suspicious products on the market, a presentation sheet is initiated for the court", says Thaçi.

He adds that, during this year, several such submissions have been initiated, but he does not provide an exact figure.

According to the Law on Food in Kosovo, fines for economic operators for violating legal provisions, including placing unsafe food on the market, start from 500 euros and go up to 20 thousand euros.

AUV, an institution that operates under the Government of Kosovo, has previously discovered suspicious products on the Kosovo market, which have caused a debate about food quality.

The last case happened last year, when the AUV ordered the withdrawal from the market of all products of the imported brand "Wudy", such as sausages and hot dogs, after suspicions that there was some kind of bacteria in them.

Kosovo imports most of the goods from neighboring countries, but also those of the EU, since the production industry is not very developed.

How to take care of citizens?

While the responsibility for food control rests with the institutions, nutritionists say that some actions can be taken by the citizens themselves to increase health security.

According to them, the expiration date should always be checked, while products such as meat, milk, eggs should not stay for a long time at high temperatures, but should be stored in refrigerators.

Nutritionist Vala Pupovci tells Radio Free Europe that storing food properly is necessary to prevent various health problems.

Food is controlled: Over half a million kilograms destroyed this year in Kosovo

According to her, checking the nutritional values ??of a product is of great importance for health.

"Nutrition values ??on packages typically include calories, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, added sugar, fiber, sodium, and some of the vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D, iron, calcium, and potassium," says Pupovci.

"An overweight person, for example, should be careful about the calories of the food they consume, while a person who has problems with hypertension, should take into account the amount of sodium in the food," she explains.

What have the institutions done?

Food safety is a standard of the European Union, where Kosovo intends to join.

In the program of the Government of Kosovo, led by Albin Kurti, this topic is divided into a separate sector.

It states that the Government aims to "advance food safety policies and align them with EU standards.

In 2022, the Assembly of Kosovo approved the new Law on Food, which provides for the general safety of products, according to EU standards.

This law aims to define the general principles and requirements for food and animal feed safety, measures and procedures related to food and animal feed, as well as determining the competent authority for food and animal feed safety.

According to the law, food that is harmful and unsafe for humans is considered to be that which, among other things, contains microorganisms or parasites dangerous to health above the permitted limit, bacterial toxins, mycotoxins or other toxic substances above the permitted limit.

What does the WHO say?

According to the World Health Organization, access to safe and nutritious products is key to good health.

The WHO says that unsafe food containing bacteria, viruses, parasites or harmful chemical substances can cause more than 200 different diseases - ranging from diarrhea to cancer.

Every year, according to the WHO, about 600 million people - or nearly 1 in 10 people - get sick after eating contaminated food, and this results in about 420,000 deaths./ REL