Inspectors of the National Food Safety Agency visited the watermelon and cucumber fields of a number of agricultural producers and took over 200 samples for testing. Lab tests showed the admissible limits of pesticides and nitrates weren’t exceeded, IPN has learned from the institution.

The Agency warns the consumers to purchase vegetables only from authorized places, from consignments accompanied by certificates of origin and safety.

Specialists in public health warn that the fruit and vegetables that contain nitrates become noxious when they are eaten in exaggerated quantities. The negative effects of nitrates on health include the modification and/or suffocation of hepatic and stomach cells and contribution to developing lymphatic, intestinal, stomach, esophageal and liver cancer.

When a product that is known to contain a high level of nitrates is eaten, citrus fruit, citrus juice or vegetables rich in vitamin C should be eaten immediately as these annihilate a part of the ingested nitrates. The content of nitrates in a product can be reduced by boiling, pickling or salting, by unpeeling or keeping in water for an hour.