Health Concerns Grow Over Carcinogenic Additives in Moroccan Bread, Watchdogs Demand Investigation

Concerned about the health of citizens threatened by the quality of bread consumed in Morocco, human rights associations urge the Ministries of Health and Agriculture to open a rigorous investigation into the quality of this staple food in Morocco. The flour used to make bread would contain carcinogenic food additives, according to the associations. In addition, flour mills and bakeries are exaggerating the use of ingredients such as salt and sugar, or abusing chemical yeast in bread production, which can cause colon cancer, overweight and kidney disease in consumers, the network said in a statement.

In view of these findings, the Moroccan network for the right to health calls on the ministries to put in place strict quality control of bread, especially during the month of Ramadan when bread and pastry making becomes commonplace in households and in unauthorized places, notes Al Massae, recalling that the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights had also denounced the danger posed by bread, whose manufacture is not subject to any particular control at the level of flour mills and bakeries.

Thus, it is urgent to take safety measures in bread manufacturing structures, without forgetting the adoption of a legal text determining the amount of salt in bread and banning sugar.

Moreover, the Secretary General of the Moroccan Federation of Bakery and Pastry Owners (FNBP) has also alerted the authorities on this subject. It is therefore up to the ministries involved to assume their responsibility through a general investigation that could lead to the permanent closure of companies, flour mills and bakeries that endanger the health of Moroccan citizens, concluded the NGO.