The Agriculture Ministry's report on food safety for 2007 shows that the State Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS) sent 61 notifications about inferior quality food products sold by Slovak retailers to the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), which has been in place in EU member states for a few years already, the SITA newswire wrote.
Of the notifications, 51 were of a serious nature, reads a press release about the report. Slovakia warned other EU countries about the poor quality of long-grain rice and genetically modified foods and organisms. Roasted hazelnuts from Turkey, spicy sausage from Italy and fermented cabbage imported to Slovakia from Poland did not comply with EU food safety norms either.
If the SVPS finds that there are food products sold on the Slovak market that seriously violate regulations, the notification is immediately sent to control authorities. If a violation is confirmed, the products are withdrawn from all EU markets.
Last year, Slovakia received 39 notifications about inferior quality foodstuffs. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
