The Ministry intensified its inspections after an increase in notifications from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) established by the European Union in recent months, according to a written statement from the Ministry. In response to RASFF notifications related to products that are prohibited for sale in Turkey, the Ministry’s General Directorate of Food and Control initiated a detailed investigation across the country.
Inspectors focused on the Mediterranean and Aegean regions where fruit and vegetable exports are prevalent. In Izmir, teams from the Tire Agriculture and Forestry District Directorate found 552 containers of five liters and 520 containers of one liter of a plant protection product containing chlorpyrifos methyl, an importation, manufacture, and use prohibited substance, in a warehouse in the Karateke neighborhood.
Approximately 50% of the citrus fruits returned to Turkey last year were found to contain the banned substance in question, according to the investigation. It was also discovered that the warehouse where the prohibited substance was found did not have permission under the Regulation on Wholesale and Retail Sale and Storage of Plant Protection Products.
In addition to the banned substance, 18,137 plant protection products sold under 69 different commercial names were confiscated from the warehouse. Legal action was taken against the business owner as well.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry continues to conduct on-site inspections from the field to prevent the use of plant protection products that threaten human health. A strict market monitoring mechanism has been put in place to prevent the importation, production, and sale of banned substances. The Ministry recently seized 20 tons of the banned substance dimethoate, with a market value of approximately 2 million Turkish Lira, in Izmir, which was set to be sold in Antalya as a plant protection product.
It was emphasized that these inspection and monitoring activities will continue to increase in order to protect the health of citizens and maintain Turkey’s reputation for exported agricultural products in the international arena.
