Food produced in Lithuania is the worst for health in the world

Why? Because normal food production in Lithuania is not profitable and does not survive in competition with crooks who do not follow the law. When living in Lithuania, the choice is simple - either you prepare your own food, or eat food bought in Poland, or you buy Lithuanian food and prepare for early death from cancer and vascular diseases.

 

    "Fines for trade in illegal plant protection products have been increasing in Lithuania since the beginning of November. Although higher fines are expected to reduce the shadow market, experts point out that it is important not only to punish, but also to ensure effective control.

 

    According to the legal acts approved by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the spring of this year, fines for storage, use or sale of unregistered or counterfeit products increase for individuals and may reach from 600 to 3800 euros, and for legal entities - from 5 to 14 percent of annual turnover, the report states.

 

    "We hope that the tightened sanctions will reduce the shadow market for plant protection products in agriculture, which, according to EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) estimates, is one of the largest in the EU in Lithuania and accounts for almost 18% from the whole market. Every year in our country on the black market there are transactions for about 30-40 mln. euros. And the problem of such illegal trade is not only unpaid taxes - the use of counterfeits or banned protection products in agriculture means that food safety is threatened, they can be contaminated with substances dangerous to human health and cause irreparable damage, ”says Zita Varanavičienė, Director of the Lithuanian Plant Protection Association.

 

    It provides an example of how in 2020 In the autumn of 2006, FNTT officials found a “center” for repackaging smuggled products in Šiauliai. It found not only illegal products but also empty packaging, a large number of copies of counterfeit labels and packaging equipment for bulk products. These products could have been used in the fields, possibly destroying crops or even leading to environmental pollution by unclear substances.

 

    Such mixtures with untested chemical composition, often with production impurities and other unauthorized additives, pose a risk to both the environment and human health.

 

    However, according to Z. Varanavičienė, fines alone will not stop illegal trade - effective and effective control is necessary: ​​the responsible authorities should analyze the data more carefully, identify risks, and carry out inspections. The user’s willingness to choose legal goods and to buy legal, chemically known and registered products from legal traders is important.

 

    The analysis of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that the black market is mainly caused by three problem areas: difficult traceability of the movement of illegal products, weak protection of intellectual property and existing corruption in public authorities.

 

    According to the authorities, the majority of illegal counterfeits from China enter the Lithuanian market through forgery of transport documents or smuggling from Ukraine via Poland, from other EU countries or through Russia and Latvia. The profitability of the trade in counterfeit plant protection products is estimated to be equal to the profits from illegal activities such as trafficking in drugs, arms or human beings.

 

    According to Z. Varanavičienė, stricter fines for illegal import and trade were needed for a very long time: traders who sold products that had been banned so far avoided a fine of only 60 euros. This amount is several hundred times lower than the state fee that a legally operating business has to pay in order to register certified, research-based plant protection products.

 

    "We have calculated that so far 267 times more would have paid off illegally than to officially register the product. In addition, this difference does not yet take into account all the costs of creating a new product and research, - says Z. Varanavičienė. "We therefore hope that greater institutional focus on the shadow and financial threats will help reduce the black market."

 

Sure. Those 18 percent of poisoned food is a funny number for us, smart Lithuanians. After all, buying legal chemicals is too expensive for us, we do not survive in competition with aggressive neighbors who always cut corners. Therefore, most Lithuanian food products are contaminated with illegal poisons, only we do not tell foreign researchers about it. High fines only force even more secrecy. Catch the wind in the Lithuanian fields.