During 2024, consumers in Serbia were informed through regional media about border bans related to foodstuffs originating from Serbia. However, it is less known that numerous shipments of fruit and vegetables from abroad were also inspected at Serbian border crossings. Moreover, when it comes to imports, certain shipments did not reach the market due to irregularities. In 2024, 165 shipments of fruits and vegetables did not meet the legal requirements for import. The samples showed the presence of harmful organisms, pesticide residues or heavy metals, which is why these shipments were returned or destroyed. Although the total number of imported products was large, only one percent of those products did not meet the regulations, which indicates the effectiveness of the system.
Control of fresh fruits and vegetables upon entering the country is carried out at border crossings where phytosanitary inspection is present. These inspections are aimed at preventing the introduction of products that are not safe for human consumption or that may introduce harmful organisms into the agricultural production of Serbia. If defects are found in the shipment, phytosanitary inspectors prohibit the import of such products and order their return or destruction.
Import in detail and what did not pass
In addition to import controls, controls in the pre-export procedure were also strengthened last year. In that process, more than 750 samples were taken, and three of them did not comply with the regulations. These shipments were banned from circulation and ordered to be destroyed. Most of the information on food safety is exchanged through the RASFF system, which enables fast communication between the competent services of different countries. According to the latest report of the European Commission for the year 2023, the number of warnings related to food safety increased by eight percent compared to the previous year. Most of the reports were related to pesticide residues and pathogenic microorganisms in food, and the most notifications came from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Last year, Serbia returned 42 shipments of domestically produced fruits and vegetables, but only one of them was due to the presence of pesticide residues. The rest of the shipments were returned for other reasons, such as inadequate quality, calibration or incomplete documentation. Also, there were three notifications related to fruits and vegetables due to excess pesticides, but those shipments were not returned to the country.
Source: AgroTV
Source: boljazemlja.com
