Russia's food safety watchdog has seized and destroyed 18 metric tons (MT) of Polish apples, prohibited under the country's strict ban against EU fruit imports, after they were discovered in a vehicle on its way to Moscow. 

The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) discovered the illegal shipment during an inspection on the Volokolamsk Highway on Jan. 11.

In a release, Rosselkhoznadzor said no documents were produced to verify the phytosanitary condition of the fruit, but when inspecting the cargo officers found labels from Polish manufacturers.

Following the seizure, the consignment was destroyed on Jan. 16 at a waste landfill in the Stupino District in the Moscow region.

In a recent update, the watchdog announced it had destroyed more than 19,000MT of food prohibited under Russia's counter-sanctions against a range of western countries, of which the majority were plant products. 

Photo: Rosselkhoznadzor

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