As the New Year celebrations approach, the authorities have launched a vast national health control campaign. Stated objective: to clean up the market for food products, in particular cakes and pastries which are very popular during this period, and to protect consumers against foodstuffs unfit for consumption.
During the second half of December 2025, the control teams of the National Food Safety Authority, in coordination with the security services, carried out simultaneous interventions in all governorates. The toll is heavy: massive seizures, immediate destruction and legal proceedings against the offenders.
At the central level, mobile brigades have got their hands on particularly worrying quantities. Sixteen tonnes of expired frozen apples, showing advanced signs of deterioration and packaged in non-food plastic bags, were seized. Added to this are sixteen tonnes of frozen strawberries, stored in metal drums of unknown origin and not suitable for food contact, as well as three tonnes of spoiled dates, kept in expired packaging.
On the ground, the violations noted demonstrate a worrying relaxation of hygiene rules. In Zaghouan, 855 kilograms of expired honey, stored in inappropriate containers, were removed from the distribution circuit. At Kef, controls led to the seizure of 540 kilograms of unfit food products, ranging from dried fruits contaminated by rodents to expired pastries, including drinks prepared with unauthorized colorings.
Bizerte, Monastir, Nabeul…
In Bizerte, 242 kilograms of poultry meat were seized after being slaughtered and marketed in an anarchic premises that did not meet any health standards. In Jendouba, nearly a ton of frozen animal livers, intended for smuggling and transported without a cold chain, was intercepted.
The governorate of Nabeul was not spared. The search operations led to the seizure and destruction of approximately three tonnes of poultry meat and pastries stored in unsanitary conditions. In Kairouan, nearly six tonnes of food products were withdrawn from the market, including frozen milk of unknown origin, juices packaged in non-compliant containers and large quantities of canned goods contaminated by insects and larvae.
Finally, in Monastir, control teams seized 115 units of confectionery presented in the form of syringes, containing prohibited dyes, a product particularly targeted because of its appeal to children.
The authorities indicate that all of the seized products were destroyed in accordance with the legal procedures in force. At the same time, ten premises manufacturing and selling pastries were closed for non-compliance with minimum hygiene conditions.
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