[size=75:1aic6fao]novinite 7 January 2010

Bulgaria Meat, Chesses Receive Equal Rights in EU

The Bulgarian sausages, cold cuts, and cheeses have equal rights in the European Union, beginning January 1, 2010.

500 Bulgarian meat and milk processing factories were able to fulfill European requirements. Those remaining below the norm over the failure to obtain the necessary funds for the modernization of their buildings and processing lines due to the financial crisis.

Nearly BGN 400 M have been invested in the food industry, including money from the EU SAPARD program.

The meat and milk processing enterprises still face some major hurdles such as the illegal shops, not listed anywhere and thus never checked by veterinarians, the low quality and quantity of local milk over the problems faced by farmers, and lack of State control.

However, the fact that the Competition Protection Commission had began court procedures about cartels in the food industry is deemed a sign the State is finally making attempts to control the market, despite the still populist character of the measures.

[size=75:1e3w0g8t]novinite 10 January 25010

Brussels Shuts Down Nearly 70 Bulgarian Companies

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A total of sixty-seven Bulgarian companies in the meat and milk processing sector have failed to meet the requirements of the European Union and face closure, the agriculture ministry announced.

The grace period that the European Commission granted to 585 Bulgarian companies in the sector so that they have time to raise their standards up to Brussels requirements, expired at the end of last year. Sixty-seven companies have failed to do so.

Experts point out that the shut-down companies may be given a new lease of life if they come to meet the requirements in the future. The only other condition will be a new registration at the National Veterinary-Medical Service.

The Bulgarian sausages, cold cuts, and cheeses have equal rights in the European Union as of January 1, 2010.

About five hundred Bulgarian meat and milk processing factories have been able to fulfill European requirements. Those that remain below the norm have failed to obtain the necessary funds for the modernization of their buildings and processing lines due to the financial crisis.

Nearly BGN 400 M have been invested in the food industry, including money from the EU SAPARD program.

The meat and milk processing enterprises still face some major hurdles such as the illegal shops, not listed anywhere and thus never checked by veterinarians, the low quality and quantity of local milk over the problems faced by farmers, and lack of State control.

However, the fact that the Competition Protection Commission had began court procedures about cartels in the food industry is deemed a sign the State is finally making attempts to control the market, despite the still populist character of the measures.

It’s a real shame this [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] again the start of another slippery slope, I have been to quite a few Butchers in Bulgaria when I ran my business and yes they don't look as clinical as the butchers in the UK but the meat I bought was fine and fit for its purpose, I can see that a lot of Bulgarians particularly in the villages are going to suffer because of Brussels, and before you know it all those in Bulgaria will get all the illnesses that we have to put up with in the UK and that’s only because we have now lost all the good bacteria that we need and again this is down to Brussels thinking that clinical clean is healthy

Think your right netsniper it never hurt us when we were young but now you only have to look round the world to see what clinical clean has done, it is a shame and as you say it's the villagers that will suffer and be the big losers, look at the uk and see how many small traders are left? We are all being taken over slowly by the big boys like Tesco a but at what cost? And what quality? I would rather get our meat from the local butcher and that’s what I will do until he is pushed out [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It already started with the Brussels banning of keeping farm animals in villages.. I have seen some villages are are following this rule and others are not....yet! BG certainly needs some improvements but I believe we have much to learn here as we have 'forgotten' many things about food, animals, wildlife, herbs, etc. The way people store food to last through the winter and make their own booze is fascinating for me. Its what we used to do years ago in blighty but with the stranglehold and convenience of super markets, no one does this anymore unless you're Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall

Got to agree with all you say here Ruby but where does it stop? it doesn’t no one seems to care anymore about real life [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] it’s all about £$ and the likes of the small village farm that is only trying to support themselves will be lost just like it's been lost in the uk and the rest of the so called civilised world it really does make me angry that our lives are dictated to us in what’s suppose to be a democratic society

I'm afraid the is out to make us all extinct

Even at my age I can see what's happening in the world the question I ask is what's the difference between Brussels and Hitler? And I'm sorry if that offends anyone it's not meant to it's to draw a correlation between dictatorships, lets hope it's a very slow transition

Hi there, I can say this is a great topic. I do not know if anyone of you had been here 15 years ago, but I can give you a few examples of how good our cheese and meat production was:

- you buy yogurt, and it was good for 3-5 days. Than the folio top would start rising up - no preservatives, no additives, nothing. Pure healthy yogurt. Now this is gone - buy any brand from your local store, keep it couple of weeks, and tell me what you see.

- Chicken meat - skin color yellow to orange, with such color of welter. Now - unless you buy from someone's homegrown chicks - whitish in color, fed with who knows what.

- Cheese - our tradition white cow cheese was excellent, it was full of tiny wholes from the natural riping process. Made of cow milk - excellent quality known worldwide. What is the story nowadays - thanks to the noise in the media about an year or two ago - the producers started announcing if the cheese was made from natural cow milk or with vegetable fats. Just keep it in mind when shopping - this should be mentioned in the shop.

It was obvious that our previous governments did not manage to preserve the quality of the foods that was produces in the 90's, but I do hope that the EU will make our food producers adhere to some healthy standards and we all enjoy good cheese and quality lukanka, which are absolutely needed when drinking red wine

petar

Hi Petar I couldn't have put that better myself, I agree with all you say and to be honest that’s how it was in the uk many years ago before we all became clinical guinea pigs suffering with all kinds of illness and now we have little bottles to out back all the good bacteria we have lost in our natural food it doesn’t make any sense I agree we have to be careful with food but we have to be more careful now more than ever, I don't think my grandparents ever had to put up with some of the disease we have now because it was taken care of buy that which was natural it’s very sad to see how the world is now going and the knock on effect of what it will do to the small farmer, I really do hope that it’s a real slow process for Bulgaria

[size=75:3qck8l1m]novinite 25 February 2010

Bulgaria’s Agriculture Ministry Forms Body to Save Milk Production

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture has formed a crisis headquarters in a move to cope with pressing issues in the country’s milk producing sector.

The crisis center is headed by Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, and also includes the head of the State Agriculture Fund Kalina Ilieva, the head of the National Veterinary Medical Service Yordan Voynov, several other government officials, as well as one representative from each of the major business associations of Bulgaria’s milk producers. The total number of the crisis headquarters’ members is 15.

The business associations in the sector have pledged readiness for all-out support of the government measures to cope with the issues of the milk producers which include low milk prices, subsidies that are lower than the EU average, and utilizing opportunities for sustainable agriculture, among others.

Seems like a bit of a life line here for the Bulgarians lets hope it all turns out well for them after all a lot of them rely on this kind of thing for their life

Went to a butchers couple of weeks ago,looked nice and clean bought some sausages which looked ok,when i started cooking them a couple of maggots popped out of them, YUK.put me off sausages,not only that, it probably comes down to hygiene,a big lesson to be learnt out here its not the fact that everything has to be clean and clinical but if it means that we are not sitting on the dunny for a week then we would go for clean as we have been there and done that