The favorite summer food – mussels, available in shops and restaurants along our Black Sea coast, poses serious risks for the health of those who consume it. The reason is that the bad practices of selling black Black Sea mussels, caught with unclear origin and unproven indicators regarding the quality and safety of the product, have become more common. The problem is very serious and we were informed about it by owners of mussel farms. They pointed out to Iskra.bg that unscrupulous traders buy cheaper the shellfish delicacy, which is of unclear origin and has no certificates.
There are two institutions responsible for solving the problem – the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA), which should carry out the necessary control. It concerns verification of the legality, quality and safety of the product when fish products are offered for sale in commercial establishments.
Nikolay Georgiev, the owner of a mussel farm in Nessebar, told Iskra.bg about the incompetent and arrogant attitude of the employees of the Regional Directorate for Food Safety in Burgas when he filed a report about poaching of mussels. He pointed out that he had submitted it together with his colleague from Sozopol – Mitko Momchilov. The owners of the mussel farms have reported to the Regional Directorate for Food Safety a specific case from a few days ago, where they saw poachers of mussels.
Their indignation came after the Regional Directorate for Food Safety in Burgas refused to accept the report:
„They told me they couldn’t take him and I had to call 056/813 280. I called and was told to wait for people to come on site and specify exactly the establishments that received these clams. Me and another person waited for the inspectors for over two hours but no one came. Then we were assured that the report would be responded to immediately.“
Georgiev wanted to show the institution which establishments bought the mussels, so that an inspection could be carried out and it could be established who the supplier was, which batch the mussels came from, which mussel farm and whether they had all the necessary documents.
The two owners of mussel farms – Nikolay Georgiev and Mitko Momchilov, met personally with employees of the Regional Directorate for Food Safety in order to take specific measures in this case.
„My colleague Momchilov and I came to see Dr. Ahmedov, who is the head of one of the examining groups in Burgas. He asked us to present the facts of the case before the whole committee. I told everything to the examiners,“, Georgiev said. According to him, only two of the employees behaved outrageously. He claims:
„Dr. Stanimira Chavdarova and Eng. Elena Chalemova from Plovdiv, who are from the Food Control Department, behaved extremely arrogantly and rudely. Several times, they tried to interrupt me and my colleague at the exhibition, as their working hours were ending and they had no intention of listening to us. Dr. Chalemova said that this case did not concern them, i.e. selling mussels that are not from a controlled habitat, that are not from shellfish farms, but collected by various divers and various canals, was not their problem. All of our attempts were to make them realize that coordination is needed between the institutions, so as to assure people that the clam that is on the market is free of salmonella, escherichia coli and toxins. All our attempts were literally thwarted by these two ladies, just them. Several times, Dr. Akhmedov intervened quite professionally and objectively, trying to explain to them that the problem is structural and concrete measures and proposals should be taken. This examiner was extremely fair and adequate. This was outrageous behavior by these two staff members.“
Nikolay Georgiev clarified that the Bulgarian National Agency of Fisheries and Aquaculture (NAFA) had called him because of this case. He pointed out that the Agency had the open intention to work together.
The owner of the mussel farm explained the scheme of the traders:
„They take 100 kg of mussels from mussel markets and another 900 kg from poachers, they mix them. Then the checking inspectors are given the certificate of the farm. This is an absolute outrage as shellfish of unknown origin pose risks to human health.“
For him, the problem is structural in relation to the sale procedure itself. According to him, a change should be made for the sale of mussels in shops and restaurants, i.e. The Food Agency should come up with a specific proposal. Georgiev proposed to ban the sale of mussels that are taken from the sea by divers, and should only be from a controlled habitat. He called on the institutions to undertake the necessary changes and to introduce order on food control so that „there are no niches for poachers“.
„I intend to prepare a report to the new director of the BFSA and present all these facts. I will also introduce the local authorities in Burgas, if necessary I will also go to the Prime Minister personally to tell him what a disgraceful attitude the officials have in our country. We are the people who pay taxes, insurance and VAT, and those who take mussels from the canals, they do not pay anything,“, Georgiev said.
The owner of the mussel farm also told Iskra.bg that he was extremely offended and embittered by the attitude he encountered on the part of these employees. In addition, he called on all those who encountered such behavior in state institutions not to remain silent, but to speak out. Only in this way, such an attitude will not become a practice, and the employees will do their work in a timely and qualitative manner.
