Turkish Veterinary Medicines Not Sold in Armenia, No Pork Imported from Vietnam: Food Safety Authority

The Ministry of Food Safety is conducting extensive monitoring activities across the country’s meat market. Regarding specifically the Khorenatsi (GUM market - ed.) market, there is no longer a stall that does not have refrigeration or does not comply with sanitary and hygienic norms for meat sales. The market is under periodic inspection, said Anush Harutyunyan, head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Food Safety Authority, during a conversation with Aysor.am, addressing recent reports circulating in the media that meat from animals that died from brucellosis is being sold in that market.

According to our interlocutor, the person making such irresponsible and unfounded statements, farmer Tigran Yeghoyan, who also claimed to have witnessed the process of sending the meat of a fallen horse to a sausage factory, has turned off his phone, and all efforts by the Food Safety Authority to contact him and gain additional clarifications have been fruitless. “I believe he should provide certain explanations regarding his statements. Contrary to the farmer’s claims, Turkish veterinary medicines are not sold in Armenia, there is no pork imported from Vietnam, and the mention of 50% infection rates is unfounded; even after tightening controls, this figure does not exceed 5%,” he noted.

Anush Harutyunyan reminded that they conduct actions based on complaints and as part of their inspection program. “However, we have not had any complaints that someone has purchased meat from sick animals and contracted any illness. Of course, there have been complaints that the meat was old or, for instance, that beef was sold instead of pork, but to make statements that infected meat with brucellosis is widespread in all markets of the republic is a huge responsibility,” our interlocutor said.

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