Morocco Urged to Boost Food Safety Measures After Marrakech Poisoning Outbreak

The health of the population is a concern for the House of Councilors. In a question addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Councilor Khalid Es-Satte, representative of the National Union of Labor in Morocco (UNTM), stated that what recently happened in Marrakech should not be considered an isolated and accidental event. He therefore calls for the disclosure of the practical measures that will be taken to put an end to the weakness of the monitoring by the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) and the enormous lack of human and logistical resources suffered by ONSSA. This institution must assume responsibility for the food safety of plants, animals and food products, from raw material to the final consumer, in accordance with the provisions of the law, he hammered.

Two cases of collective food poisoning were recorded in Marrakech within a month. six people are said to have died and 24 others were poisoned after eating spoiled meat in a snack bar in Marrakech. Five people were also victims of food poisoning after eating a meal in a snack bar in Marrakech. Several other people were victims of food poisoning after eating a meal in a snack bar. During the proceedings of the municipal council in the May session, Fatima Zahra Mansouri, mayor of Marrakech, reported that the emergency room of the Mohammed VI University Hospital recently welcomed 20 people who had consumed fast food in an establishment in the Hay Mohammadi district of the Al Menara district in Marrakech. In the wake of this, the owner of the establishment was arrested and his restaurant was closed in the presence of an ONSSA commission. The mayor made sure to assure that the establishment where the incident occurred did not have a legal authorization from the council to sell fast food.

In order to prevent any food poisoning that could result from fraudulent practices and the greed of café and restaurant owners, inspection checks of fast food establishments are taking place in Marrakech. The harvest has proven fruitful: more than 50 authorized businesses have been closed for non-compliance with standards, and more than 60 others have suffered the same fate for lack of a license.