France rejects dried figs from Turkey due to dangerous aflatoxin levels

France has issued a warning after dried figs from Turkey were found to contain aflatoxin levels 20 times the legal limit, a public health expert said. Aflatoxins, toxic compounds linked to liver damage and cancer, pose serious health risks if consumed in high doses.

Friday December 27 2024 06:13 pm

Duvar English

The number of products exported from Turkey but returned due to high levels of pesticides or aflatoxins has steadily increased. The European Commission's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) issued a warning for dried figs sent to France.

The RASFF website displays aflatoxin findings from the dried fig samples originated from Turkey.

Public health expert Cavit Işık Yavuz announced on social media, saying, “France issued a warning about a food product originating from Turkey. The product is dried figs. The aflatoxin and total mycotoxin levels are 20 times the legal limit. Yes, neither you misread nor did I mistype. It is 20 times the limit. Aflatoxins are among the most toxic mycotoxins.”

Yavuz issued the following warnings: “Aflatoxins can be found in grains, oilseeds, dried nuts, and spices. They can also be present in animal feed and transfer into the food chain through animal milk. High doses of aflatoxins can cause acute poisoning and are generally life-threatening by damaging the liver.

Fransa Türkiye menşeli gıda ile ilgili bir uyarı yayınladı.
Ürün kuru incir
Aflatoksin ve toplam mikotoksin İzmir n erilen sınır değerin tam 20 katı.
Evet ne siz yanlış okudunuz ne ben yanlış yazdım
Sınır değerin tam 20 katı

Aflatoksinler en toksik mikotoksinler arasında +++ pic.twitter.com/TSnuXD65By
— Cavit Işık Yavuz (@ciyavuz) December 26, 2024

Additionally, aflatoxins are genotoxic, meaning they can damage DNA and cause cancer. Evidence also shows that aflatoxins can lead to liver cancer in humans.”

In 2022, Turkey became the leading EU importer country as pesticide residue reports reached 430. Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s data found a 40-pct increase in agricultural pesticides in the last ten years with levels surpassing 55,000 thousand tonnes in 2022, according to reporting by DW Turkish.