Tomato hornworms were identified in a consignment of 19 tonnes of tomatoes imported from Turkey, which was stopped at the customs. Andrei Balan, of the National Food Safety Agency, has told IPN that a part of this batch will be destroyed as the tomatoes are infected.
According to Andrei Balan, this insect is not harmful to people, but, if the quality of the imported fruit and vegetables is not monitored attentively, the quality of the fruit and vegetables grown in Moldova will be affected by imported parasites.
Therefore, the National Food Safety Agency ordered the heads of the sanitary-veterinary and phytosanitary control posts to step up control over the consignments of tomatoes imported from Turkey, Syria, Macedonia and other countries where tomato hornworms are often met.
Andrei Balan added that such pests are mainly detected in May and June.
