I refer to the article carried in the Times of Malta under the heading ‘High pesticide levels in some fruit and veg’ (February 1).

I must categorically deny that I ever gave an interview to the reporter regarding pesticide levels in “some fruit and vegetables”.

Consequently I must state that the quotes and statistics carried in his article were not given by the undersigned as part of an interview.

I met the reporter last week, on his request, so as to facilitate interviews with the various DGs at MCCAA who are specialised in their respective sectors.

During this meeting I gave him a very brief overview of the various responsibilities of MCCAAA and also agreed to facilitate meetings requested.

As a matter of fact, on the following day he met the DG of the Competition Office.

I would have thought that had the reporter wanted to write an article on pesticides, he would have done so after having interviewed the official responsible for this sector.

In fact I am willing to facilitate such an interview for the benefit of the Times of Malta readers.

Finally one would have thought that before publishing such an article in the Times of Malta, which could alarm consumers unnecessarily, verification would have been carried out to ensure that this was the result of an interview in order to ensure that a factual picture is given to its readers.