The Greek stock-breeding is under strict supervision by the European Commission, which gave a deadline until February 2009 for the farms to improve the control. Otherwise the commission will forbid the distribution of Greek animal made products in the EU and in third countries. The reason is in the non-existent veterinary control in the farms, where farmers do not take samples from the animals to test them for heavy metals and other harmful for the people substances. There laboratories where such tests are made are not enough and there not enough qualified veterinary personnel.

Experts from the European Union were checking the Greek stock-breeding for a whole week and ranked it at 28th place among the 27 countries members of the organization! They announced there will be nine more check-ups, which will be done every month and will involve all levels of the production process – the food industry, decease control passed by animals to humans, slaughterhouse hygiene, labs for heavy metals and poisons in the meat, animal fodder, drugs and antibiotics, employment policies, customs control. The first check up is set for January 9th, 2009.

The European Commission has found holes in the Greek stock-breeding system many times and has warned the country more than once. Similar check-up was done in July, where the European experts found out that only ¼ of the necessary veterinary tests required by the European legislation are done in Greece. One of the tests, which are not done regularly, is brucellosis among sheep. The commission has given Greece a deadline until December 31st in order to start making the tests regularly, if not it will forbid the milk processing from untested animals in the dairy factories in the country. This measure will have extreme unwanted consequences for the production of different kinds of cheese and dairy products in Greece.