- Safiu Kehinde
Authorities Kandahar Province in Southern Afghanistan has disclosed the destruction of 56 tons of expired, low-quality food and medicines.
This was confirmed on Thursday by spokesperson for the Kandahar Municipality, Saifullah Asim.
Asim said expired, counterfeit, and substandard items were collected across the province over the past five months
before being publicly burnt.
He reminded that authorities have warned that legal action will be taken against anyone caught selling substandard goods.
This action is part of a broader effort by Afghan authorities to ensure the safety of medicines and food items.
Similar burnings of outdated drugs and food have been conducted in other cities, including the capital, Kabul,
in recent months.
The post-Covid19 era had seen the influx of expired food and drugs circulating across Afghanistan with the recent confiscation being one of many.
In 2022, health official, burnt 20 tonnes of expired food materials collected from wholesale and retail stores in Kunduz city and the surrounding areas with an estimated cost of 5 million Afghanis.
According to the Khama News Agency, about 50 tons of expired medicinal and food items were collected and burned by the Balkh province Directorate of Public Health in Mazar-e-Sharif, few weeks before similar confiscation at Kunduz city.