site.btaEC Audits Phyto-sanitary Control at Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint

European Commission auditors, accompanied by Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) Director Hristo Daskalov, will be at the Kapitan Andreevo Checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Turkey on Thursday to inspect the phyto-sanitary control there, Daskalov said in an interview on Bulgarian National Radio Thursday.

A political scandal erupted recently after the termination of a contract with a private company that was hired to check truckloads of fruits and vegetables entering Bulgaria through Kapitan Andreevo for pesticides and other plant protection products. The contractor was accused of covering up imports that did not meet the standards and failing to report to the Exchequer its income from fees charged for its services. "What should have been credited in revenue to central-government budget was diverted to other accounts. Over ten years, the public purse was defrauded of some BGN 1 billion," Daskalov said.

He believes that the scandal over the termination of the contract led to the fall of the Cabinet in a no-confidence vote on June 22. 

After the private contractor's eviction, phyto-sanitary control at the border has been exercised by the State. 

Daskalov told National Radio that the proportion of samples that tested positive for pesticides has increased five-fold to 10% since the conditions for checks at the border crossing have changed from 1.5-2% during the previous ten years, Daskalov commented.

A huge number of checks were carried out on paper. Of some 11,000 samples that used to be tested, 1.5-1.8% proved to contain pesticides. Now 10% of 800-900 samples test positive.

The BFSA Director explained that audits were conducted online at the checkpoint over the last two years, which make it impossible to see the actual situation. "The actual situation can be seen on site," he added.

Kapitan Andreevo is the busiest border crossing on the only EU land border with Asia Minor, with more than 2,500 trucks daily moving from Turkey to Bulgaria en route to the world's biggest and wealthiest consumer market. As this first point of entry into the Union the vehicles' cargoes and documents are checked to make sure that the foods are safe before they are released into Europe's retail network.

Approximately three out of four travellers cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border at Kapitan Andreevo. It handles all types of road and rail traffic. The checkpoint is located on one of the main road and rail corridors connecting Europe with the Middle East, with traffic at it increasing gradually as a result of Bulgaria's accession to the EU.