فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Rabat – November 11, 2025 (MAP) – The National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA) categorically denied on Saturday the accuracy of circulating news about the return of a shipment of Moroccan olive oil from a European country due to containing residues of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, confirming that the incident dates back to 2024 and is not related to the current 2024-2025 season.
Real Reason: Missing Label Information, Not Contamination
ONSSA clarified in an official statement that Belgian authorities conducted a voluntary withdrawal of the product in 2024 by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA), but the decision was not due to any chemical contamination, but rather due to the lack of some mandatory information on the label, such as batch number and expiration date, which prevented accurately determining the product’s source and confirming whether it was essentially Moroccan.
The Office confirmed that its investigations within the concerned production unit proved its full compliance with national and international health standards, emphasizing that no shipment of Moroccan olive oil was returned during the current year 2025.
Strict Control System Ensures Quality of Moroccan Olive Oil
ONSSA revealed precise statistics highlighting the strictness of control over the olive oil sector:
- 779 health licenses granted up to the 2024-2025 season
- 439 field inspection visits conducted
- 7 licenses withdrawn and 11 others suspended
- 41 tons of non-compliant products destroyed
- 73 violation files referred to the judiciary
Pesticide Residue Testing More Than Quadrupled
The Office indicated continuous enhancement of pesticide residue monitoring, where the number of tested samples increased from 1,536 samples in 2020 to 6,635 samples in 2025, using internationally accredited laboratories according to ISO/IEC 17025 standard, and under the supervision of highly qualified technical staff.
This official denial comes to reassure local and international consumers that Moroccan olive oil maintains its high quality and global reputation, and that the circulating rumors have no basis in fact.
