Turkish flour safe, says Turkish envoy

MANILA, Philippines - Turkish flour is safe and fit for human consumption, Turkey’s Ambassador to the Philippines Adnan Basaga said.

“The accusation is unfounded,” Basaga said in a hastily-called press conference late Friday afternoon. At the same time, he said they are ready to put Turkish flour in all sorts of tests to prove it is safe to eat.

He pointed out that they have been exporting flour in 126 countries. This translates to 1.1 billion people consuming Turkish flour.

The statement was made following accusations from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel that the flour from Turkey causes cancer and should therefore be banned in the Philippines. Basaga said no other country has expressed concern over the presence of Ochratoxin A.

Gunham Ulusoy of the Turkish Flour Industrialists Federation said Pimentel’s accusations stemmed from a study conducted in 2007 using 2006 harvested flour. Aside from using old data, he said the study covered only 10 percent of the flour produced in Turkey. Of the 10 percent, only two percent were found to have contained toxins. However, Ulusoy stressed that the toxins are within the acceptable levels.

“All wheat from the Republic of Turkey are being tested for Ochratoxin A by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The last 800 shipments of wheat have undergone Ochratoxin A testing and all tested negative,” Ulusoy said.

He added that Ochratoxin A has a certain limit that is acceptable in most countries, including the European Union member-countries.

In 2009, the Philippines imported 103,000 tons of flour from Turkey, or close to five percent of total domestic consumption.

Ulusoy said that 15,000 tons of flour are expected to arrive from Turkey next month and added that they are willing to have the flour tested in order to ensure it is safe.

“There is really no concrete evidence. The issue is based on a speculative article,” Ulusoy noted. The issue has caused some local consumers to cancel their order of Turkish flour. “There were some requests for cancellation.”

Turkish flour which is P180 cheaper than local flour, sells for P150 per 25-kilo bag.

On the issue of Turkey not using their own flour, Ulusoy said this is totally unfounded. “The Republic of Turkey does not import wheat flour for over 20 years,” he noted.

Meanwhile, local Turkish flour user Ernesto Chua Co Kiong, president of the Malabon-based Long Life Trading Corp., said the demand has gone down by 35 percent since the issue came out. However, he stressed that it is not true that Turkish flour has a foul odor and that it is not safe for consumption.