Winter is coming. So, in mid-October, I bought 100 kg of cabbage to pickle. I paid 400,000 zlotys.
Several hours after being shredded, the cabbage in the barrels began to swell and ferment, and a few hours later it changed from white to dark yellow. My wife began cooking bigos with a head of unpickled cabbage, but an unpleasant stench started to rise during cooking. We concluded that the farmer must have used an unauthorised concentration of cabbage-protection products or failed to observe the waiting period. This year's drought also brought a high population of pests in cabbages, such as cabbage whites and aphids.
What could we do? We threw out the bigos to avoid poisoning, and I took a head of cabbage to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Station. The kind ladies listened and said: you are probably right, this cabbage is not fit for consumption. It cannot be ruled out that the farmer is to blame. However, we do not test cabbage. Try resolving this matter at SANEPID.
I went to SANEPID, and the kind ladies there told me this: we do not test cabbage. You can go to Wrocław, to the Plant Testing Station (35 Curie Skłodowskiej Street). They will carry out tests at your expense (roughly, it may cost over a million, perhaps more). Under communism, we accepted such cabbages and sent them to Wrocław. They tested them and issued certificates. The cost was low. Today we have no funds for this purpose. It would be best if the farmer reimbursed you.
However, the farmer did not return the money and said: in my opinion, the cabbage is healthy—if you think otherwise, prove it with some SANEPID certificate, and then I will refund your money. I learned from someone that the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station would take an interest in such cabbage if, for example, someone became seriously ill as a result of eating it or—God forbid—died...
Would anyone volunteer to help me solve this cabbage problem? Once I recover the money, I can share it...
SWK (name and address known to the editorial office)