Inspectors of the Central Enforcement and Investigations Unit (PISUH) at the Ministry of Agriculture will increase their forces for the holiday, and in recent days have carried out enforcement operations across the country, as part of which they seized over 130,000 smuggled eggs.
The large seizure, which included about 94,000 eggs, was at the Dargot Cliffs crossing in the south, in cooperation with the Israel Police – YMR, a truck was seized containing eggs with fake stamps from an Israeli marketer, without documentation and without a license. The caught eggs were destined for marketing in the city of Arad. The rest of the eggs were caught at the Hussan crossing near Beitar Elit, about 12,000 eggs, and at the Hela crossing, near Beit Shemesh, 12,000 eggs, as well as at the tunnel crossing about 11,000 eggs.
In all cases, fake stamps were found on the eggs and they were transported without refrigeration. Also, no documentation was found about the origin of the eggs. All the eggs were destroyed in view of the real danger to public health in consuming these eggs, and legal proceedings were opened against the suspects.
In another activity carried out by the inspectors together with the Nazareth police, the inspectors raided a warehouse in the Nazareth market. As part of the inspection, 6,000 eggs were found stored in a place without refrigeration, without seals and without documentation. From a preliminary investigation, the suspect admitted that he smuggled the eggs out of the Palestinian Authority, in a commercial vehicle without refrigeration. The eggs were destined for marketing in Nazareth. In view of the real danger to public health in the consumption of the eggs, all the eggs were transferred for destruction, and legal proceedings were initiated against the suspect.
Moshe Acharek, Director of the Central Enforcement and Investigations Unit (PISUH) at the Ministry of Agriculture: “Ahead of the holiday, we are witnessing a further increase in the number of smuggling that takes place from the Authority's territories into Israel's territories. I repeat and emphasize that it is very important to avoid buying eggs from unregulated places, and to make sure that the stamp is clear with the name of the screening institute and a proper expiration date.'
“Eggs are a sensitive product, which, if not handled properly throughout the supply chain, may pose a real danger to our health. The inspectors of the office continue to work day and night so that we consume safe food for normal use and especially now for the holiday,” he added.
