Illegal Bakeries in Morocco: A Rising Health Threat to Consumers

"These establishments operate outside any legal or health framework, in total absence of food safety conditions," denounces the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights in a press release, specifying that the majority of employees in these bakeries "do not have any medical certificate attesting that they are free from infectious diseases." According to the association, the hygiene conditions there are "extremely degraded," exacerbated by the use of expired or poor quality flour, thus "constituting a direct threat to the health of citizens."

"The transport of bread from these bakeries is carried out under unhygienic conditions, using uncovered carts exposing the products to the sun and dust, before being sold on the streets, without respect for basic safety standards," the association, affiliated with the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights, also denounces. According to the association, this is a blatant violation of Law 24.09 on the safety of marketed products and services, as well as Law 31.08 on consumer protection measures.

Based on these findings, the association calls for "the need to close all unauthorized bakeries, to strengthen the role of local health control commissions, to intensify unannounced inspections on the ground and to impose severe sanctions on offenders, particularly on distributors of expired products." It calls for strengthening confidence in legal bakeries, promoting good practices within the sector, but also and above all raising citizens’ awareness of the risks associated with the consumption of products of unknown origin.