KABUL (SW) – Officials from the Food and Drug Authority of the de-facto Ministry of Public Health announced that since the beginning of the current solar year, more than 860 tons of low-quality and outdated food and medicines have been destroyed across Afghanistan.
On Thursday, September 26, Jawid Hazhir, a representative of the authority, said that this amount of substandard food and medicines has been collected and disposed of from central and provincial units over the past six months.
“Since the beginning of this year, we have successfully gathered and destroyed over 860 tons of substandard food, expired items, and unusable medicines that received negative results from the quality control laboratories of the Food and Drug Authority,” he said.
Officials emphasized that initially, violators are advised to refrain from selling substandard and outdated food and medicines. If violations continue, offenders will be referred to the judicial authorities.
Some residents of the capital Kabul have expressed concern over the sale of expired food and low-quality medicines in shops and pharmacies throughout the city and provinces. They urge the Food and Drug Authority to take action against the smuggling of these harmful products into the country.
Mirwais, said, “Measures must be taken to stop the smuggling of low-quality and expired food and medicines at the borders.”
Nazer Hussain, another Kabul resident, agrees, “The best solution is to prevent the entry of substandard and expired goods at the borders.”
It is noteworthy that last year, 850 tons of low-quality and outdated food and medicines were collected and destroyed from various provinces and the capital.
