Food Agency Destroys One Ton of Banned Chicken Gizzards in Struga and Ohrid, Two Butcher Shops to Be Fined
On October 17 the Food and Veterinary Agency said it seized and destroyed about 1,000 kilograms of chicken gizzard and 55 kilograms of meat preparations in butcher shops in Struga and Ohrid.
The Food and Veterinary Agency (AHV) on October 17 said that during inspections of butcher shops in Struga and Ohrid it seized and destroyed about 1,000 kilograms of chicken gizzard, as well as 55 kilograms of meat preparations containing gizzard. Two butcher shops that did not comply with the ban will be sanctioned through misdemeanor proceedings. The inspections are part of stepped-up controls against the illegal trade in this food, aimed at protecting consumer health.
In July 2024 AHV issued a ban on importing and using chicken gizzard intended for human consumption. It cited the risks from the muscular part of the gizzard, including possible contamination with pathogenic bacteria and viruses and the presence of toxins. The ban followed inspections that found abuse and fraud toward consumers by several meat industries.
What it means for consumers: under AHV’s ban, gizzard must not be imported or used for human consumption. The announcement does not say what illness or hazard was specifically found in these quantities; the ban is preventive and relates to the risks the Agency cited.
According to a headline by OhridNews, nearly 70 tons of unsafe food have been destroyed in the country this year, but the published reports on this case do not say which inspections that figure comes from. How much of the trade is illegal has not been published either, so the picture of the scale of the problem remains incomplete. The two fined butcher shops are not named in the announcement.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 18, 2026
