While European experts do not yet know what is the cause of the epidemic of disease caused by a new strain of the Escherichia coli bacteria, Montenegrin customers are more cautious in their trade, even though not a single case of infection has been officially registered in Montenegro.
The government assures that there are no infected vegetables on the territory of Montenegro, while the position of sellers and producers is that domestic fruits and vegetables can not only compete with imported ones, but are also healthier and of better quality.
On the stalls of Podgorica markets, domestic cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are mostly sold, while bananas, lemons and oranges are imported.
"I know what I'm taking, I don't guess where it's from, because I bring it home," says the seller.
Buyers, however, are cautious: "I have to ask where they got what from, but, nevertheless, I only buy from trusted sellers." It's normal to be afraid, because every now and then there's a new bacteria and infection," Vesna Popović, a 50-year-old woman from Podgorica, told "Vijesta".
On the stalls of Podgorica markets, domestic cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are mostly sold, while bananas, lemons and oranges are imported.
Most sellers of lemons and oranges are sourced from Spain, whose cucumbers were believed to be the cause of the epidemic, which sickened more than 1.700 people and killed 18 people.
Most often imports from Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Italy
According to the data of the Health and Sanitary Inspection, which controls the import and sale of fruits and vegetables, Montenegro most often imports from Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Italy, and there are also shipments from the Netherlands, Spain, Albania, Ecuador, and Slovenia.
Due to the current epidemiological situation and the upcoming summer tourist season, the sanitary inspection will strengthen its supervision over the import and trade of fruits and vegetables, the chief inspector promises.
The inspection did not record the import of cucumbers from Spain during this year, which until recently were suspected to be the cause of the epidemic.
"The phytosanitary inspection, which controls the safety of food of plant origin, determined that 24.000 kilograms of flour from Serbia, 912 kilograms of beans from Macedonia, 1.200 kilograms of coffee, as well as 20.000 kilograms of beans were defective," says director of the Phytosanitary Administration Zorka Prljević.
Farmer Željko Milić from Tuza says that during the season in Montenegro there is no need to import cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, pips, potatoes, peppers.
"In the height of the season, we have enough of our domestic products, which are healthier and of better quality," he says.
Due to the current epidemiological situation and the upcoming summer tourist season, the sanitary inspection will strengthen its supervision over the import and trade of fruits and vegetables, the chief inspector promises.
Milić believes that the state does not help farmers enough, because "people work in agriculture who do not know how to help us". The lack of space to sell products is also a problem.
"When the season starts, everyone will be surprised at how many of us there are, and we won't have anywhere to sell our products," he says.
The floods did not damage the quality
"All the samples taken from the flooded areas corresponded to the conditions of the Rulebook on permitted quantities of dangerous and harmful substances in the soil and methods for their examination"
Also, the results of the soil analysis did not show any irregularities, according to the Phytosanitary Inspection.
The director of the Phytosanitary Administration reminds that after the December floods, analyzes of the flooded lands were carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"The Phytosanitary Administration, within its competences, controls the land that is used as a facility for the production of food of plant origin, and in 2011 we put the greatest emphasis on the flooded areas of Zeta, Malesia and Bjelopavlić, and so far a total of 52 samples have been taken.
"All the samples taken from the flooded areas corresponded to the conditions of the Rulebook on permitted quantities of hazardous and harmful substances in the soil and methods for their testing," says Prljević.
She explains that as part of the control, in addition to the soil, the plants from the production plots are also analyzed.
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