The amounts of foods of both animal and non-animal origin that can be brought across the Moldovan border for personal use will be regulated. Authorities say the existing legal gap is frequently exploited by people who essentially smuggle food by hundreds of kilograms without customs officers being able to do anything about it.

The list of goods, as well as the allowed amounts are included in a draft Government decision that has been submitted for public consultation.

Under the proposed rules, it will be forbidden for individuals to bring in meat and variety meat, sausages, salamis and similar products. All types of dairy and milk-based products are also banned, except for baby formula or products for medical use.

What is allowed includes up to 20 kilograms of fish and fishery products, except if that one single fish allowed weighs more than that, and 2 kilograms of pet food, among other.

On a different subject, it is proposed to reduce the number of food safety inspection points at the border from 11 to 6. Those remaining are the checkpoints built in 2016 and 2017 and meeting EU requirements. Also, a new checkpoint, Pervomaisk-Kuciurgan, is to appear at the border with Ukraine, along the Transnistrian segment.

Further, it is proposed to eliminate border checks for the goods already cleared for export by the Food Safety Agency in its territorial subdivisions. This will allow passage through any border crossing, even those who don’t have a food safety checkpoint.