Illegal Slaughterhouses Discovered near Kardzhali: Tonnes of Uninspected Meat Reached the Market

Two illegal slaughterhouses were discovered on private properties in the village of Chiflik, Kardzhali Municipality, (Southern Bulgaria) during a joint operation by the Regional Food Safety Directorate and the Economic Police. Preliminary findings indicate that tonnes of meat of unknown origin were being produced and distributed without any veterinary oversight.

During the inspection, 80 ear tags from large livestock were found. This indicates that tons of meat from the two slaughterhouses were of unknown origin and had not undergone veterinary-sanitary control. Authorities will use the ear tag numbers to trace the origin of the animals and identify their owners.

At the first property, inspectors found around 100 kg of beef with no documentation of origin, while the second property contained approximately 230 kg of beef, 10 kg of beef offcuts, and four animal hides. All of the meat will be destroyed.

Pre-trial proceedings will be opened against the owners of the properties.

Authorities from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) suspect that meat from the illegal slaughterhouses near Ihtiman may have been sold in Sofia. The operation in Kardzhali comes less than two weeks after a similar case in Ihtiman, where illegal slaughterhouses operating for years were also uncovered.