Soil contamination

Cypriot farmers have descended in droves upon Nicosia this week to protest against a long-delayed EU pesticide ban, with tractor drivers taking part in the demonstration and warning 79% of arable land would be lost.

Ongoing debris removal work in 11 earthquake-affected provinces has put food safety on the agenda, as experts warn that dumping building rubble on or near farmlands can cause unprecedented harm to not only food crops but also the environment.

Mežica – The 15-year long programme to remediate the environment of the Upper Mežica Valley in the wake of its mining past is drawing to a close this year but traces of lead can still be found in children’s blood. Thus a follow-on project will be required.

"In 2 and a half years, Bulgaria has sent 660 notifications to the EU about dangerous foods. 85% of them are for imports of food from Turkey and as many pesticides. Bulgaria is one of the countries with the most signals, 1/3 of all in the Union. Turkey ranks second in the number of notifications for dangerous foods ".

The bloc's Chemical Agency had classified the fungicide as a carcinogen, meaning it causes cancer, and ruled it unsafe for use.

Three years later, in Kosovo, seven euros will buy a farmer enough Daconil for 10 litres of irrigation water, according to the findings of a BIRN investigation, even though the country removed it from its list of approved pesticides.

A racked that illegally procured pesticides from Turkey and Bulgaria and then forwarded them to Greek farmers in Greece has been dismantled by police in northern Greece.

According to reports on Monday, four people have been arrested.

The Bulgarian Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has identified and banned 24,478 kg of imported vegetables from third countries over excessive pesticide residues, said the Agency's press office, quoted by FOCUS and Darik.

A recent sampling of pesticide residues identified in imported fruit and vegetables has shown that 1.66pct of the samples carried excessive content, below the average value of non-compliance in the European Union, which stands at 4.1pct, according to Romania's National Authority for Veterinary and Food Safety (ANSVSA).

The Service Control Commission will listen to the specialists, NOVA TV reports.

The Gebrev case enters parliament. In a closed session, MPs from the Service Control Commission will hear the heads of the special and prosecution on the case with the poisoning of businessman Emilian Gebrev.

All versions of Gebrev poisoning are working.

Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry banned the use of three dangerous chemicals utilized in the agriculture sector with a decree coded "urgent" on Dec. 22 after daily Hürriyet reported that the pesticides were killing hundreds of thousands of bees.