HIBAPRESS – Abdellatif Baraka
The seizure of significant quantities of olive oil that do not meet health standards, and the referral of 58 files to the judiciary, have raised a wave of concern regarding the safety of food products circulating in national markets, especially when it comes to an essential product that is widely present on Moroccan tables.
In this context, the Moroccan Observatory for Consumer Protection issued an urgent appeal to the National Office of Food Safety, calling for intensified monitoring and increased vigilance, following the seizure of more than nine tons of adulterated olive oil, considering that this data reveals the extent of the risks that threaten consumer health and food security. The observatory praised the results of the interventions of the competent authorities, considering it a positive step that reflects the importance of proactive market monitoring, but it warned that these efforts, despite their necessity, remain insufficient in the face of the spread of food fraud, especially with regard to olive oil, which is marketed in some cases under the names of quality and authenticity without meeting the approved health standards. The observatory called for intensifying field monitoring throughout the production, storage, and distribution chain, with special attention to popular markets and unstructured points of sale, in addition to expanding the scope of laboratory analysis to detect various forms of fraud, whether related to components or storage methods, with the publication of the results of these analyzes within a framework of transparency. It also stressed the importance of adopting proactive interventions to prevent adulterated products from reaching the consumer, instead of just seizing them after they are marketed, demanding to enhance coordination with the Public Prosecution to expedite punitive procedures and ensure that impunity is avoided, with the announcement of violations within the limits permitted by law, to protect the consumer and deter the rest of the manipulators. On the communication side, the observatory called for the adoption of periodic and simplified statements that inform citizens of the health risks associated with adulterated olive oil, and explain ways to distinguish between the sound and non-compliant product, in addition to facilitating mechanisms for reporting violations. The observatory affirmed at the end of its position that consumer protection is not limited to seizure and judicial follow-up, but is based on permanent vigilance, strict monitoring, and clear messages to the market, the gist of which is that the health of citizens is a red line, announcing the continuation of its supervisory and advocacy role in food safety issues in a way that enhances consumer confidence in the national product.
