The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has removed more than six tons of counterfeit cow butter from the market after laboratory testing revealed that the product contained no milk fat.
According to Dr. Kremena Stoeva, director of the Food Control Directorate at the BFSA, the operation began after a report triggered inspections and subsequent analysis that exposed a mismatch between the product’s declared composition and its actual ingredients.
"We seized about six tons of butter. I think we covered a large part of the market, but I cannot say for sure that we have identified all the places the product reached," Stoeva said.
Following the findings, inspectors carried out nationwide checks in more than 70 retail locations. Multiple samples were retested, and the product was immediately taken off shelves, withdrawn from circulation, and destroyed.
The counterfeit product, sold under the label “Deutsche Markenbutter,” was marketed as dairy butter but was found to contain over 95% non-dairy fats. Laboratory results identified a mixture of palm oil, coconut and palm kernel oils, soybean and sunflower oils, as well as lard.
