An inspection in the Russian city of Murmansk has found pepino mosaic virus in a batch of tomatoes imported from Azerbaijan. The infected produce will be destroyed.
The inspection was carried out by officials from Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor agency for the Northern Sea region at fruit and vegetable warehouses. Inspectors noticed yellow-red mosaic patterns, necrotic spots and signs of deformation on the tomatoes.
Experts initially suspected these were symptoms typical of pepino mosaic virus. Subsequent laboratory tests confirmed the suspicion.
The inspection also uncovered another violation: the infected tomatoes had not been kept separate from other produce, and the relevant authority had not been notified of the infection in time.
The businessman involved has been ordered to correct the violations and will face administrative liability, officials said. The virus-infected batch of tomatoes will be destroyed.
