A state of panic has pervaded the Libyan street after the issuance of official decisions in the last two days, which confirm the presence of carcinogenic substances in bread and sweets.
The daily livelihood of Libyans is threatened by mortal dangers, which increase the state of oppression in which people live.
As the decision by the Libyan Attorney General’s Office upheld the closure of a number of bakeries, mills and sweet shops and the prosecution of their owners, as the carcinogen ‘potassium bromate’ was shown to have been used in bread and sweets and promoted in the market.
Disastrous results
Prosecutor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour revealed on Monday that the results of analyzes of “potassium bromate” conducted in Germany confirmed its presence and use at unsafe levels in 27 flour factories and bakeries which they produce bread and sweets in the cities of Sabratha, Sorman, Al-Marj, Derna, Tobruk, Al-Khums, Zliten, Qasr Khiar and Tripoli.
Closure of factories and bakeries
He also stressed that all factories, bakeries and shops where the prohibited material was found to be imported into the country will be shut down and their managers will be charged.
This case dates back to last August, when a report by the Libyan Advanced Center for Chemical Analysis of the Ministry of Higher Education revealed that several bakeries and mills in the capital, Tripoli, and the city of Tobruk used the banned potassium bromate in a quantity from 300 to 1,300 times the permitted limit, which caused a stir in the country, prompted the Public Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation, despite the refusal of the Ministry of Economy and its affirmation of a ban on the importation of this substance.
Interestingly, many countries, including Libya, ban the use of “potassium bromate”, due to its harmful health effects and contain carcinogens, and its users are punished.
prohibited substance
The decision of the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Libya also provides for the prohibition of the use of this substance by the owners of bakeries, factories and establishments for sweets and pastry shops in all its forms and classifications in the production and processing of products from bakery and pastry shops, as well as prohibiting mill owners from adding it in the production of flour, and preventing the marketing of the substance or treating it in any form.
It should be noted that the news of the presence of the carcinogenic “potassium bromate” in the flour and bread circulating in the Libyan markets has triggered panic and popular fear in the last two days, including requests for the withdrawal of all the flour in markets, and to open an investigation to determine those responsible for its importation and to hold accountable all those who have deliberately undervalued the lives of citizens. .
