Arsenic Detected a Second Time in Moroccan Sole: Russia Closes Its Doors to the Exporter
Russia has suspended imports from a Moroccan establishment after arsenic was detected again in refrigerated sole. Already placed under enhanced monitoring in June for the same reason, the exporter has been barred from the Russian market since 7 September.
The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance has placed the Moroccan establishment registered under the number “1310 POLYVALENT” under temporary restrictions. The decision appears in a letter from Rosselkhoznadzor dated 28 August.
The analyses cited by the Russian authority revealed the presence of arsenic in refrigerated sole. The document specifies neither the measured concentration nor the volume of goods concerned.
The measure applies only to this establishment, not to all Moroccan fish exporters. It is part of a targeted inspection comparable to the refusals of Moroccan consignments already decided in Spain on health grounds.
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Products shipped before 7 September may still be admitted into Russia. However, their entry remains subject to mandatory laboratory testing concerning the detected risk.
A first warning in June
The suspension is the culmination of a procedure initiated a few weeks earlier. On 26 June, Rosselkhoznadzor had already subjected products from the same establishment to an enhanced inspection regime after arsenic was detected in refrigerated sole, according to a first Russian decision.
The new letter explicitly mentions a repeated detection. The persistence of the anomaly therefore led the Russian authorities to move from enhanced testing to the temporary closure of the market to the establishment concerned.
This sanction comes as Moroccan seafood products are gaining ground abroad. In Spain, fish imports from the kingdom increased by nearly 50% between 2018 and 2025.
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The Russian document sets no date for the lifting of the restrictions. The establishment will therefore have to obtain a change in its status in the register of foreign suppliers before it can normally resume shipments to Russia.