The National Food Safety Agency (NFSA) commenced inspections at all the storehouses of dairy products in Moldova, banning their sale before the check. In a press release, the Agency said each imported consignment will also be verified and samples will be taken at sanitary-veterinary border checkpoints.
The decision was taken in an operational meeting of the Agency held on February 5.
A study initiated by East Europe Foundation and carried out in the labs of the Center for Applied Metrology and Certification shows that the milk fats in a large number of dairy products sold in Moldova, such as butter, sour cream, cheese and pressed cheese, are substituted with fats of other origins. There were analyzed 126 samples of domestic and imported dairy products. One fourth of the specimens failed the test. Under the current norms, the non-milk fats must not exceed 5% of all the fats contained in a milk product. The leading national dairy producer JLC is also a leader by the number of samples where the fats of vegetable origin exceeded the norm - in the “domestic” cow cheese by 6% (95.8%), while in granulated cow cheese “Faguras” – 5% (93.2%). In the cheese “Grauncior”, the fats of foreign origin represented 89.31%, while in the product “Gingasie” – 89%.
Experts explained that in the Republic of Moldova, they consume more milk than it is produced. That’s why the dairy producers use vegetable fats in production. If they import animal fats, the finished milk products will be more expensive, even twice in some case.
