For the last 3 years, the import of Ukrainian dry and condensed milk has increased many times. From these raw materials, imitation products are prepared, pushed on the market as quality.
This was stated by Simeon Karakolev, chairman of the Sheep Breeding and Sheep Breeding National Association. He strongly criticized the lack of control and policy to sanction unfair trade practices – for example, the sale of low-quality cheese with palm oil and milk powder.
“It’s an imitation product that people buy instead of cheese.” In Greece, Romania and France, similar practices are absent, because there are statesmen who come out and say – this is not good, it is not useful,” noted Karakolev.
“The process is reversible, as long as there is political and state will, and there is none. All this is corporate interest. The question is where is the national interest. Why do producers need to buy milk from farmers? Hey, where are the trucks from Poland, from Hungary, from Ukraine full of dry milk! People are doing business,” added Karakolev angrily to the national radio.
The head of the association of sheep breeders and goat breeders in Bulgaria did not fail to take into account the increasing illiteracy among the Bulgarian consumer, who reads the label less and less. According to the breeder, there is also a lack of literacy campaign for consumers by health experts to explain the harm of taking imitation products.
“These dissuasive, disciplining normative bases must be changed, and this thing will not happen. Then let him make the imitation product, if he wants to, with 100% water content, to mix these imitation space foods, with powdered milk, with palm fat. The point is to write it in capital letters – it has nothing to do with cheese, nothing to do with yellow cheese,” said Karakolev.
