The National Food Safety Agency has warned that it is the only public authority empowered to control the food products, while the instruments used on the market to measure the content of nitrates cannot be used in monitoring procedures because they do not have standard metrological characteristics and are not subject to legal metrological control, IPN reports.

The Agency provided such details following the appearance of media reports about the content of pesticides in fruit and vegetables. It warned that the vegetal products placed on the market should be accompanied by the safety certificate. In accordance with the national legislation, all the examinations are performed in certified labs by taking samples according to an appropriate methodology and by skilled personnel.

According to the program for monitoring the pesticide and nitrate residues, about 500 samples are examined annually and the information about the unsafe products is made public periodically.