Counterfeiters dump the Algerian market with adulterated salt

Estimates released by a top source in the national company for salts “ENASEL” reveal that 130 thousand tons of the used salt is untreated and 80% of the sold brand is made up of iodine -free salt while more than a half of the Algerian population is unwillingly consuming adulterated salt.

• The phenomenon has taken alarming proportions in the province of Al Oued, southern Algeria, where several groups of traffickers operate by night in order to sell the product to the local inhabitants and dump other areas of the country with the poisoned salt.
• The commander of the gendarmerie squad of the province of Al Oued has revealed that his elements have foiled an attempt to sell adulterated salt and seized more than 14 tons of iodine-free salt designed for consumption in the southern provinces and northern ones.
• He  added that untreated salt is occasionally smuggled to neighboring countries like Tunisia and Libya through the southern borders.
• The smugglers use a counterfeited package similar to that used by the national company “ENASEL” to put inside the udulterated salt and sell it to thousands of consumers in these areas disregarding the disastrous consequences on their health.
• The counterfeited salt is blamed for causing several  serious illnesses including kidney failures, leukaemia, and miscarriages.