Following the recent blocking of a shipment of peppers from Albania, Croatian authorities have once again intercepted another Albanian product at the border. This time, the shipment consisted of pistachio cream (pistachio paste) found to contain dangerously high levels of a toxic substance harmful to human health.

According to a report published in the European Food Safety Alert System (RASFF), the shipment from Albania was stopped at the Croatian border checkpoint on September 8, after laboratory tests revealed a high concentration of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic compound that can cause serious health problems.

The contaminated products were immediately destroyed by Croatian authorities. Subsequently, on October 3, an official notification was issued through the RASFF system to alert other EU member states, advising them to suspend trade and prevent potential distribution of the product across Europe.

This marks the second case within a week in which a shipment of Albanian products has been stopped at EU borders due to food safety concerns, once again raising questions about the quality control standards of goods exported from Albania.