IRAQ: Low-quality food rations pose health risks, officials concede

Photo: IRIN

An Iraqi woman receives her food ration.

BAGHDAD, 11 July 2006 (IRIN) - Following complaints over the quality of state-distributed food rations, the Ministry of Trade plans to boost quality controls and acquire food items from alternate sources, say officials. “Since the fall of the former regime, monthly food rations have worsened in terms of quality,” said senior ministry official Ahmed Abdul-Lattif. “But from now on, we’ll be very serious and only accept products that have passed quality controls in our laboratories.” In recent efforts to raise quality, some 500,000 tons of food have been rejected, destroyed or returned to suppliers since January due to low quality or because of exceeded expiration dates. The decision to boost the quality of state food rations was taken after doctors in several local hospitals reported numerous cases of food poisoning and malnutrition. A subsequent investigation found that cases were largely the result of spoiled or inadequate rations. “We’re keeping our eyes on the possibility of new cases,” said Abdul-Lattif. “But starting this month, any food product entering Iraq will have to pass a rigid quality control test. Imported products must come with complete documentation of their content and quality.” According to Dr Khalil Mehdi, a spokesman for the health ministry’s Nutritional Research Institute, tainted or inadequate food rations can cause malnutrition, particularly in children. Many of the rationed food items, meanwhile, such as beans and biscuits, lack the vitamins and essential proteins essential for children’s growth. “Some families depend entirely on food rations to survive,” said Mehdi. “If these aren’t nutritious, they’ll suffer from malnutrition and other diseases.” Statistics compiled by the US-based Brookings Institute last year note that almost 60 percent of the total Iraqi population regularly consumes food rations. And 25 percent – roughly 6.5 million people – are “highly dependent” on rations to meet their nutritional needs. Meanwhile, Iraqis continue to bemoan the declining size and quality of the government dole. “Under the former regime, food rations were of good quality and included 12 items that fed the entire population,” said Abdul-Lattif. “But today – now that Iraq is considered a ‘free country’ – the situation has worsened, and some foods have actually been removed from the list [of rationed food items].” According to Abdul-Lattif, only sugar, rice, flour and cooking oil remain from the original 12 foodstuffs provided by the former government. Other items, including soaps and lentils, were removed from the list in May as a result of budget cuts. AS/AR/AM