Fines for water in chicken meat to be imposed retrospectively

Manufacturers and retailers will be fined if they offer chicken meat with higher levels of water than allowed, even if it was produced or became commercially available before the date when the new regulation came into force, i.e. before January 21. This became clear during the inspection made by Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Naydenov in Mall Bulgaria, Sofia.

According to the new regulation, manufacturers must not allow more than a 4.3% water content in chicken products. According to Naydenov, market participants have had enough time to comply with this regulation. According to some traders, however, cited by BTA, the normative act does not specify what should be done with the goods with a longer shelf-life which were supplied before November 20, 2012. The options, according to the Minister, are two: delivery to the Bulgarian food bank or incineration.

For manufacturers, the fine for the first violation is BGN 10,000 and in case of another violation the site should be closed. For traders, the fine is BGN 5,000.

"Those who sell us water, instead of meat, lie to users. Inspections showed that products' packages show even a 25% and a 30% water content," said Naydenov. He explained that all retail chains will be inspected. "We want these inspections to be a signal to others that, if they have products which do not meet the requirements, they should remove these from the shelves," the Minister said. According to the regulation, imported chicken meat will need to be packed in processing plants in accordance with the new order as well.

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