Specialists from the State Food and Veterinary Office (VMVT) carried out an inspection at the market in Šiauliai. It found that cucumbers grown in Russia were being sold to buyers there.

According to the authority, the boxes of vegetables were labelled in Polish with the information that the cucumbers were grown in Russia, exported from Belarus, and had entered Lithuania via Poland. At the same time, the purchase documents provided by the seller stated that the country of origin of the cucumbers was Ukraine.

An investigation has been launched after specialists established that the Šiauliai trader was supplied with the vegetables by the Kaunas-based company „Transfrukta“.

During an unscheduled inspection of the company's warehouse, inspectors found 29 boxes of fresh cucumbers without any labelling. The boxes showed signs of torn labels. The person in charge of the company produced documents showing that the company had purchased the cucumbers from a Polish supplier and that the same documents indicated Ukraine as the country of origin of the market vendor.

„This case raised reasonable suspicions of possible falsification of information on cucumbers. The investigation will continue," VMVT Chief Specialist Inspector Modestas Žalnieraitis said in a statement.

The products were destroyed after the authorities banned the placing on the market of the cucumbers found in the establishment. At the same time, a market trader was banned from marketing the cucumbers for failing to ensure traceability.