Health Concerns Spark Boycott of Algerian Dates in Morocco Ahead of Ramadan

Several sources call for a boycott of Algerian dates, not for political reasons, but mainly because they would be carcinogenic, reports Assabah. These dates present health risks because they have been partly grown in areas known "to have housed French nuclear tests from the 1960s, which has caused radioactive pollution that is still transmitted today to plantations, and therefore to dates." Algerian dates also have a bad reputation in England, where they are suspected of causing forms of hepatitis in consumers. This fruit has also been banned by a large retail chain. In Morocco, the health authorities had meanwhile discovered that several tons of Algerian dates seized in a warehouse near Casablanca contained an unauthorized preservative product.

Based on these findings, a boycott campaign of this product has been launched. The authorities are called upon to favor the consumption of Moroccan dates known for their quality and to work for a better structuring of the distribution channels "in order to better value the local product, and to make it an asset for the national economy for export".