The Agricultural and Food Board (PTA) is conducting raids this summer to inspect strawberry vendors. This year, inspections have been carried out at the markets in Tallinn, Tartu, Paide and Jõhvi. Marika Aru from PTA said that only a few violations have been found and that the overall situation among strawberry vendors is good.

Aru added that the number of fraud cases has decreased over the years.

"The situation is generally good. There's always room for improvement, but compared to the oversight results and the number of complaints and precepts from years ago, we can say the situation is good. There are isolated violations and there will be in the future, but we are satisfied for now," said Aru.

According to Aru, the strawberries being sold must have accompanying documents proving their origin. Over the years, these documents have improved, making them harder to forge.

"Providing accompanying documents is highly valued by Estonian producers, and there are even cases where the documents are no longer just ordinary papers but watermarked, making them extremely difficult to forge," she said.

Kersti Otteson, the head of Tallinn Markets, noted that foreign strawberries are not sold much in Tallinn markets.

"Currently, no imported strawberries are being sold at Mustamäe or Nõmme markets," she stated.

Otteson added that deceiving customers is not in the vendors' interest.

"The vendors trading at the markets, both in Nõmme and Mustamäe, have been trading for years. They have their own clientele and no one wants to deceive their customers. Everyone wants their customers to return. In this sense, the level of trust is very high. Customers trust their vendors," she said.

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