site.btaOver 6.5 Tonnes of Food Directed for Destruction, Meat Processing Enterprise Suspended

More than 6.5 tonnes of food have been directed for destruction, and part of the operations of a meat processing enterprise has been suspended due to violations at several sites belonging to the same company in the village of Sokolovo, near Dryanovo, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) said on Monday. Agency inspectors found food stored at improper temperatures and without labels in Bulgarian, products with damaged packaging, as well as poor hygienic and technical conditions of premises and equipment.

At one of the company’s sites, large quantities of food of animal origin were discovered without the required identification markings, including nearly 3 tonnes of pig heads, beef, lamb products, and salted intestines stored in barrels. According to the BFSA, the traceability of the food cannot be guaranteed, posing a risk to consumer health. A total of 6,596.9 kilograms of food will be destroyed.

The inspection also revealed serious problems with the buildings and equipment. Mold was found on ceilings and walls in cold storage facilities, along with corroded doors and rusted technological equipment. In some production areas, wall coverings were peeling, and the floor-to-wall junctions were in unsatisfactory hygienic condition. As a result, part of the activity has been suspended.

Violations were also identified at the company’s other inspected facilities, including a dairy processing plant, a plant producing imitation products, a refrigerated storage base, and a wholesale warehouse. These included misuse of premises, disrupted production flow, incomplete or inaccurate maintenance of technological logs, and discrepancies between actual production processes and approved documentation.

In cold storage facilities, inspectors found dairy and imitation products without identification markings, as well as kashkaval cheese with mold that had not been separated and directed for destruction, as required by regulations.

Additional administrative measures will be taken for all sites, including issuing mandatory instructions with deadlines for remedying the violations and follow-up inspections to ensure compliance.