Health alert “Strawberries from Morocco”

Linverd surprises us how this can happen: March 06, 2024 “The community portal RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) has alerted the presence of hepatitis A in strawberries from Morocco in Spain. The notification issued qualifies the presence of this virus as a serious risk, as it exceeds the “maximum permitted level of absence/25 g”.

Spain is one of the main producers of fruit and vegetables in Europe, both in traditional and organic agriculture, with very demanding sanitary and traceability controls.

Unfortunately we see how every day there are known cases of illegal exports from other countries without health control or under minimums, either in production or in the exploitation of labor, yesterday they were oranges from Egypt and today it is the turn of the strawberries of Morocco, a shame.

Strawberry Case of Morocco

A new health alert has shaken the agricultural community, led by the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA), who have urged the Government and the European Union to take “urgent measures”. The reason for this requirement is the recent alert of the community portal RASFF (Rapid Alert System Feed and Food), which indicates the “presence of Hepatitis A in strawberries from Morocco”, identified in a specific point in Spain.

The AVA-ASAJA expresses concern, stressing that the risk decision is “serious”. According to the association’s statement, this finding could be due to the irrigation of farms with sewage, posing a significant risk to public health.

In response to this critical situation, the farmers’ organization has sent an urgent letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, requesting explanations from the Government of Morocco and detailing the measures it plans to implement to prevent the recurrence of these cases.

Faced with the health alert, the AVA-ASAJA insists on the need to convey to the competent authorities of the European Union the importance of subjecting all strawberries from Morocco to an exhaustive health inspection. In addition, they request that, if more health alerts are detected in fruits and vegetables from third countries, controls be extended to these products, emphasizing that the health of consumers is at stake. This same petition has been presented to the European institutions in Brussels, seeking coordinated action to address this critical problem.

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In Linverd we always know the origin of the products we sell, local products and with the ecological certificate that guarantees us that the products have been produced or elaborated following the rules of organic farming, and that they have been controlled throughout their production process, elaboration, packaging and marketing.

The guarantees associated with an ecological certificate

• Sustainable production: An ecological certificate guarantees that the product has been produced sustainably, minimizing environmental impact and using environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
• Absence of synthetic chemicals: Certified organic products are free of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Production is expected to be based on organic methods and natural approaches to pest control and fertilization.
• Respect for animal welfare standards: In the case of products of animal origin, an ecological certificate guarantees that the animals have been bred according to animal welfare standards.
• Conservation of natural resources: Organic production tends to minimize the use of natural resources, such as water and energy, and to promote practices that conserve biodiversity and ecological balance.
• Transparency and traceability: Products with organic certification are supported by traceability systems that allow us to follow the path of the product from its origin to the final consumer, providing transparency about its production.