The Moroccan authorities accused unnamed parties of distorting the reputation of the Moroccan producer (Al Jazeera)
On Monday, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture denied rumors of “contamination” of strawberries exported to Europe, and accused parties of targeting the reputation of the Moroccan product.
This came in a statement by the Ministry after allegations were circulated on social media about the presence of the hepatitis A virus in Moroccan strawberries.
The Ministry denied what was being circulated on these means, and considered it “unfounded rumours.”
Last Friday, the Moroccan Office for Food Safety (government) denied the contamination of strawberries exported to Europe, following the European Union’s warning that they were infected with hepatitis A.
These developments come after Spanish farmers intercepted Moroccan trucks loaded with vegetables heading towards Europe or arriving for the local market, amid escalating farmer protests in several European countries to demand what they describe as living and financial rights.
The Ministry stated in a statement - today, Monday - that despite the previous denials and clarifications regarding food products after the results of accurate analyzes, and “in view of the continued circulation of false and baseless information issued by parties (which it did not specify) aiming to distort the reputation of Moroccan agricultural products, we completely deny "Conclusively confirming the validity of this news."
The statement explained: “As soon as it became aware of the health notice on a batch of strawberries exported from Morocco, the National Office for the Sanitary Safety of Food Products (UNSA) quickly opened an investigation and conducted the necessary investigations.”
The Ministry confirmed that laboratory analyzes showed that the results of hepatitis A were negative, and that there was no contamination of the used irrigation water, noting that in addition, it was confirmed that field users were subject to strict monitoring to ensure the health safety of the strawberry product.
In late February, Spanish and French farmers intercepted - over a period of days - Moroccan trucks loaded with vegetables heading towards Europe or to the local market, amid escalating farmer protests in European countries demanding living and financial rights and an end to the policy of dumping cheap Ukrainian and foreign products.
Source: Social media sites + Anadolu Agency