The measure was taken after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of Salmonella infantis bacteria in the product.
The agency’s press release notes that ANSA inspectors at the Leuseni border checkpoint “immediately seized the entire batch, after which, together with the importer, a decision was made to return the contaminated meat to the foreign producer”.
Logos Press sources in the Patronate of Meat Processors claim that the country of origin is Hungary.
The agency’s statement emphasizes: “The National Food Safety Agency reaffirms its commitment to strict control of all imported food products by strengthening controls at the state border (ANSA Director’s Order No. 45 of 2026) and encourages consumers to purchase meat and meat products exclusively from authorized locations that meet food safety standards.”
Deboned meat is a product obtained by removing meat residues from bones or poultry carcasses by mechanical means, resulting in the destruction or alteration of the fibrous structure of the muscle.
What do meat market operators in Moldova think about this?
Meat market operators explain that MMO/MDM is used exclusively in industrial processing and is imported at the request of producers of inexpensive sausages and cooked sausages (parizers).
That is, this product is subjected to active heat treatment, during which the bulk of harmful bacteria are killed.
Market participants note that there are two types and more than 2.5 thousand serotypes (“serovars”) of Salmonella bacteria. In the European Union, detection of not all of them in products automatically entails their withdrawal from the market.
At the same time, operators wonder whether the detection of Salmonella in MMOs will result in a ban on poultry imports from the supplier country, as happened in the case of metronidazole detection in Ukrainian poultry feed.
