IRAQ: Contaminated flour taken out of bread basket

BAGHDAD, 26 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - Flour rations included in Iraq's monthly food Public Distribution System (PDS), operated by the Iraqi Ministry of Trade (MoT), were not provided in March and April due to traces of iron found in the flour, officials confirmed.

"The main source of the traces of iron is in Australian wheat, which is imported by the MoT. We have examined random samples of wheat in our laboratories and this confirmed iron dust in some grain grinders," director of the quality control department at the MoT, Ibraheem Kuther, told IRIN in Baghdad.

The ministry said it had stopped buying wheat from Australia, which has been supplying more than 2 million mt a year to Iraq since 2003. It has asked for offers from other countries to fill the gap for March and April, as well as providing wheat for the rest of the year.

However, the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) said it had carried out tests in response to the allegations and concluded that it was safe for consumption.

Under the PDS, set up to alleviate the UN sanctions imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1991, people receive rations including flour, rice, salt, sugar, beans, tea, vegetable oil, cereal and infant formula.

Some 6.5 million people, 25 percent of the entire population, remain highly dependent on food rations and are therefore vulnerable, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) baseline food security assessment, released in May 2004.

"We did not receive flour for two months and the MoT said there were problems in storage or in the grinders, now they say there is metal in it and it is not fit for eating, but this food is part of our basic diet," Baghdad resident, Diaya Ali, told IRIN.
Government officials said they were hoping to supply wheat again by mid-May.

Companies processing the wheat said they noticed the deposits of iron and informed the authorities immediately.

"We found big quantities of iron elements around the magnets used to pull metal elements from the wheat before we grind it," Raheem Ali, an engineer at the al-Durha grain grinders in Baghdad, told IRIN.

"We tried to inform the suppliers to stop delivering the flour, but it seems too late, some of this flour has already been delivered," he added.

There is no clear information on the health effects so far, but doctors say it could be dangerous.

"Iron exerts toxic effects through the liver, heart, pancreas and joints. It can also lead to darkening of the skin, liver cancer, enlargement of the heart, congestive heart failure, infertility, impotence, joint pains and diabetes," manager of the central children's hospital in Baghdad, Dr Talib al-Janabi, told IRIN.

"We have had many cases of stomach and liver pain, but I cannot confirm if these complications were related to iron poisoning from flour. We need to do more tests," al-Janabi added.

Although the wheat passes through quality control when it arrives in the country, private grain grinders say the MoT should have stricter regulations.

"Our technical procedures in these grinders are old and many mechanical parts are broken. We expect this examination on the wheat to be done by the MoT immediately after they receive the shipments," Hassen al-Aybi, owner of a grinding company, told IRIN.

Meanwhile, those entitled to the food rations say an urgent solution is needed.

"Iraqi citizens are the only ones suffering from this situation, many people did not receive their share of flour and it is one of the most important items," Adnan Sa'ad, a resident of Baghdad, told IRIN.

[ENDS]