Somaliland government Announces Crops Free of Dangerous Toxins

Hargeisa (Somaliland.com) – Somaliland government announced that the nation’s crops are free of the dangerous toxin called aflatoxins following the discovery of such toxins in food stable crops in neighboring Somalia…..

Somaliland officials today unequivocally denied that national food staple crops are infected with dangerous toxins related to cancer development. In a joint press conference, the minister of Agriculture, and the head of national Quality Commission said Somaliland crops are free of Aflotoxins. 

Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize.  Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops in the field, at harvest, and during storage. 

Exposure to aflatoxins is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer.

The head of Somaliland’s Quality Commission said a study on some of the country’s stable food crops revealed that it was free of the hazardous toxins. He said that the study was carried out in reputable world-class labs in the United Arab Emirates. 

We have studied this in United Arab Emirates lab in which we have complete confidence in its integrity and qualifications. We have investigated the crops for five different mycotoxins mentioned in the study.  Aflatoxins have a quality control limit that shouldn’t surpass. Our findings indicate that there were no toxins found in the listed stable foods.

Chairman of Quality Control Agency

The minister of agriculture said that samples studied at the laboratories included six staple food crops harvested in two years. 

A study conducted by Queen’s University Belfast on Somali crops found that levels of aflatoxin B1 are dangerously high compared to European Union levels. The toxin is linked to the development of liver cancer.

The Aflayoxcin BI level in Somalia crops was over 400 times higher than the level permitted by the European Union. The study found.