Dutch Customs Find Chemical Residue in Moroccan Oranges

Dutch border authorities have detected traces of Chlorpyrifos in Moroccan imported oranges in Dutch markets.

Rabat – Dutch border authorities have detected traces of Chlorpyrifos in Moroccan imported oranges in Dutch markets.

Morocco is known for exporting fruits and vegetables to different parts of the world, with the European Union being the biggest importer of Moroccan oranges

between 2019- and 2020. The European Union imported approximately 75,343 metric tons of the citrus fruit from Morocco in the past year.

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) reports that Dutch authorities removed some Moroccan imported oranges from the market.

Thanks to the intervention of the Dutch border authorities, the oranges did not endanger the health of any consumers, RASFF noted, saying that it has classified this as a serious case.

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide. It is mainly used to control foliage and deter soil-borne insect pests. It is designed to kill insects by causing them to have convulsions and die. Medical News Today says that all organophosphate insecticides are toxic and can be potentially lethal to humans.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Issued a final ruling concerning the use of chlorpyrifos on August 20, 2021. With February 28, 2022 serving as the final date to stop the use of any commodities containing Chlorpyrifos.

The European Commission prohibited the use of Chlorpyrifos on January 31, 2020. A period of three months was given to completely withdraw it from distribution. The EU expects the chemical to not be available in any way starting from June 1, 2020.

Medical research at the schools of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and Medicine in the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), with the help of scientists from the National University of Comahue in Argentina (NUC), found that being exposed to low doses of Chlorpyrifos can cause breast cancer.