2023-08-16 16:35:22
The discovery of harmful agricultural pesticides in a shipment of red watermelon in a Moroccan market sparked a wave of concern in the country about health safety standards in agricultural production, but the authorities confirmed that the matter is related to a limited quantity.
Commercial groups in the city of Agadir, in southern Morocco, withdrew quantities of watermelons from their stores and warehouses, following a warning from the National Office for Health Safety, known as “UNSA”, stating that there are harmful pesticide residues in a sample of this fruit.
The red watermelon, or “watermelon” as it is called locally, is one of the fruits that Moroccans accept, due to its high nutritional value, in addition to its price, which does not exceed 5 dirhams per kilogram (0.5 dollars).
in Parliament
Concern about the contaminated watermelon reached the Moroccan Parliament, as MP Nabil Al-Dakhsh of the Popular Movement Party directed a written question to the Minister of Agriculture, Muhammad Al-Siddiqi, about the aspects of monitoring used in the use of pesticides that are harmful to health, as well as agricultural products offered for sale.
In the same context, the team of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces called for holding a meeting of the productive sectors committee, and summoning the Minister of Agriculture to determine the responsibilities of marketing the contaminated watermelon.
The importance of food safety awareness
The head of the socialist team in the House of Representatives, Abdul Rahim Shahid, confirmed in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that:
The spread of news about a health warning from a European country regarding a shipment of watermelons imported from Morocco, which constituted a matter of concern among citizens. There is a fear of dumping the local market with these products, which were refused to be exported abroad. The UNSA office strengthened monitoring, which resulted in the withdrawal of health licenses for an agricultural unit responsible for exporting shipments of watermelons, after it was found to contain high levels of pesticides.
The head of the socialist team called for a meeting of the Parliament’s Productive Sectors Committee, in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture and the director of the “UNSA” office, in order to:
Determine the responsibilities in the marketing of red watermelons that do not meet the applicable health safety standards. See the measures taken by the government to respect quality and safety conditions.
consumer protection
A number of consumer rights advocates are calling for the need to tighten health control over the production of agricultural materials, and to punish those found to be using pesticides that pose a threat to health, while monitoring the use of licensed pesticides in the recommended quantities.
The vice president of the Moroccan University for the Protection of Consumer Rights in Agadir, Al-Kabir Al-Shafei, stresses that these pesticides pose a real threat to consumer health, and can cause serious diseases.
Al-Shafei stresses to “Sky News Arabia” the need to take a set of measures to prevent the use of toxic pesticides, including:
Legalizing the sale of pesticides and agricultural medicines, through accrediting licensed stores run by technicians authorized to determine the appropriate pesticide, method of use, and quantity for each crop. Monitoring the course of using pesticides and medicines after sale. Monitoring watermelon production inside the fields before directing it to consumption, while enabling the farmer to obtain documents delivered from the interests of “UNSA” confirming that the product is free of toxic substances. Non-compliance of agricultural products, including red watermelon, with health safety standards, would negatively affect the export process abroad, and call into question the quality of Moroccan products.
Food poisoning.. 1.6 million cases daily
UNSA procedures
After the news spread of the withdrawal of “contaminated watermelons” from the points of sale of the commercial market, the National Office for Health Safety issued a statement confirming that:
Throughout the year, the office draws samples of all kinds of vegetables and fruits, including watermelons, from fields, markets, packaging units, and shops. The results of laboratory analyzes conducted on 260 samples of red watermelon during the current season, proved that 95 percent of them conform to health safety standards. In the event that the product does not comply with health safety standards, a set of measures are taken, including issuing a report, destroying the non-conforming crop, and notifying the points of sale in order to withdraw the product and not to market it.
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