Moroccan Authorities Ban French Organic Buckwheat Flour Over Health Risks

A danger for Moroccan consumers. This is now what the organic buckwheat flour, currently sold under the brand "Ma vie sans gluten", represents, reports Le360.ma.

This product, withdrawn from the shelves in France due to the danger it could pose to consumer health, contains substances whose effects are similar to those of cocaine, the same source informs, stating that the said flour contains an herb known as "tropane alkaloids" in an amount deemed harmful to health due to the presence of a hallucinogenic substance. This would affect the mental faculties of the consumer.

The substance in question, very present in this herb also known as "Datura" or "the devil’s weed", very widespread in France, is also present in the composition of cocaine, argues the same media, which does not fail to recall that this brand of flour is sold, in addition to France, in several countries including Morocco, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Romania and Vietnam.

In France, the Directorate of Competition and Consumption warns consumers about the danger that the consumption of this flour could present. According to the same source, this structure has also cited a series of indiscernible effects that the injection of the toxin present in this flour could have on the consumer.

These are effects such as vasodilation, tachycardia, hallucinations, agitation, dry mouth and visual disturbances. It is also recommended that people who have consumed this flour and noticed these effects consult a doctor immediately, advises the Directorate of Competition.

The same media points out that the Moroccan health authorities, after being alerted to this situation by a European alert system, have taken the necessary steps in such cases. They have blocked the packages bearing the batch number indicated by the French food safety authorities as being that of the contaminated flour at customs. In doing so, these products will no longer be marketed in Morocco, we are reassured.