Head of Romanian food safety authority steps down following several scandals

Mihai Turcanu, the general director of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) has resigned according to official sources cited by Mediafax newswire.

His resignation takes place after the institution has had to deal with several food safety related scandals over the past weeks, starting with the horsemeat crisis last month when horsemeat mislabeled as beef was first believed to be coming from Romania. More recently, milk infested with aflatoxin was found in local collection centers and a Romanian producer was accused by German authorities of having exported turkey meat which contained residues of antibiotics.

PM Victor Ponta has previously stated that ANSVSA will have a new leadership in order to ensure a better and more efficient communication and improved regulations in the food safety field.

Turcanu was accused by milk producers’ representatives of “lack of professionalism” for the way the milk scandal was handled. ANSVSA announced this Monday that milk samples from three farms and two processing facilities are suspected of having delivered and processed milk which contained aflatoxin above the accepted limits.

Turcanu is backed by the National Liberal Party.

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Simona Bazavan