Tests show brown wrinkle virus' absence in local tomatoes - Azerbaijani Food Safety Agency

By Trend

Necessary measures to lift restrictions on the export of tomato products from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan are underway, a source in the Food Safety Agency (FSA) of Azerbaijan told Trend.

According to the source, on January 8-15, 2021, the agency received 17 notifications confirming the detection of the brown wrinkle virus in tomato products exported from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, and from January 16, the export of tomatoes to this country was temporarily restricted.

The source noted that over 1,363 tons of tomatoes were exported from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan in 2020.

“During 2020 and at the beginning of 2021, both of our countries have exported tomato products to many countries of the world, including the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Moldova, Qatar, Russia, the UAE, Belarus, and Georgia. However, no cases of detection of the above virus by importing countries have been registered,” the source said.

As the source further pointed out, samples were taken from returned shipments and from tomato products on the local market in order to investigate the data received from farms where the brown wrinkle virus was detected. The samples were screened for brown wrinkle virus and other viruses at the FSA Central Phytosanitary Laboratory and the internationally accredited Zirai Research Institute of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Ankara. “During the researches carried out so far, no viruses, including the brown wrinkle virus, have been detected in the samples,” the source added.

“A package of documents on the results of studies carried out within the framework of the agreement reached, and the results of examinations, confirming that the virus was not detected in products, was sent to the relevant structures of Kazakhstan. Currently, negotiations in this direction with the structures are ongoing, and the public will be informed about the results,” concluded the source.