The farmer who raised the alarm on food safety because of slurry dumping on fields is being probed by the agricultural and health authorities.

Four inspectors from the Environmental Health Directorate descended on Paul Abela on August 6 and took several samples of his water sources and also of his agricultural produce.

The directorate has five inspectors who are responsible for ensuring food safety by conducting various agriculture-related checks across the country. This means that the big bulk of the directorate’s inspectors have been deployed to assess Mr Abela’s farm.

He admitted he was surprised to witness such a show of force, especially since this occurred after he received a stern letter from the director of agriculture, Justin Zahra, warning him that the department would be taking all the necessary steps against him if he does not draw up a fertiliser plan, as required by law.

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