Circé Almánzar, Vice President of the Association of Industry of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), declared that the accusations of Haiti who claims to have detected in a batch of flour from the Dominican Republic, a rate of Potassium Bromate superior to standards and dangerous to health, are false. He recalled that potassium bromate as an additive in flour, is no longer used in the Dominican Republic since 2010 and it was very easy to verify the and certified it by public health authorities.

Circé Almánzar indicated that if the Dominican flour had the certification of regulatory authorities, such as certificates of free sale "Regardless of whether or not they are reprisals [...] Haiti must commit to respect the rules of international trade". For him, Haiti "has no sanitary justification to prevent the export of the Dominican flour in their country."

On his side, Jésus de Valdez, the President of the Union of Small and Medium Industries of the Flour, qualifies the measures of prohibitions on flour in Haiti, of retaliation against immigration measures in the Dominican Republic. He said the Dominican government "must stand firm and defend its commercial rights and continue its efforts to control illegal immigration."

Remember also that the Ministry of Agriculture of Haiti, had also indicated having detected the presence of high levels of Azodicarbonamide, an additive with similar effects to Potassium Bromate, without however communicating the rates for some unknown reason...

Note that according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Azodicarbonamide food additive, can be safely used in food for the uses and in the prescribed standards 1) As aging ingredient and cereal flour bleaching at a rate not exceeding 2.05 grams per 100 pounds of flour (0.0045%; 45 ppm); 2) As a dough conditioner in bread baking for a rate not exceeding 0.0045% (45 ppm) of the total weight of flour used. The use of the Azodicarbonamide is not permitted particularly in the European Union, Switzerland and Australia but is allowed among others in Canada and the United States.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14698-haiti-health-mysterious-contaminated-flour-in-dr.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14491-haiti-notice-dominican-flour-quarantined.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-14490-haiti-trade-noticewheat-flour-import-from-the-dominican-republic.html

HL/ HaitiLibre