As reported in the Russian department, on October 12, a teleconference was held between representatives of the Rosselkhoznadzor and the Bulgarian Agency for Food Safety.
“The Rosselkhoznadzor informed the Bulgarian side of its concern about the detection of the polyphagous humpback fly (Megaselia scalaris (Loew)) in the incoming tobacco raw materials,” they noted.
The Bulgarian side was warned that the Rosselkhoznadzor does not exclude the possibility of introducing temporary restrictions on the import of raw tobacco from Bulgaria into Russia.
The Bulgarian agency, in turn, linked the identification of the pest with the “poor-quality cleaning of containers” in which the raw materials are moved.
They stressed that they would take "comprehensive measures to prevent a similar situation in the future."
“In addition, a thorough investigation will be carried out for each case of detection of an insect in products sent to Russia,” the Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement.
In May, Russia lifted the ban on the import of live fish, exotic and decorative animals, insects and arthropods from China.