Senegal rice aflatoxin findings expose rift between laboratories and government
A pilot study found aflatoxin above regulatory limits in 22.6% of rice samples collected in Dakar, Kaolack and Thiès. Senegal’s government rejects claims of generalized contamination, while conflicting reports have identified the tested rice as either imported or locally produced.
Pilot study triggers a national food-safety dispute
A dispute over aflatoxin in rice has unsettled Senegalese consumers and exposed conflicting messages from laboratories, officials and industry sources. The controversy began after results from a pilot food-safety surveillance project were presented on July 22, 2026, at the poison control center of Fann Hospital. The study covered rice sold in Dakar, Kaolack and Thiès.
According to the Senegalese Press Agency, or APS, 22.6% of the samples contained aflatoxin above regulatory limits. Professor Amadou Diop, president of Senegal’s National Codex Alimentarius Committee, presented the result at a workshop reviewing the project. The study was conducted under the committee’s authority and, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, financed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Conflicting accounts of the rice’s origin
The central disagreement concerns what the findings represent. Some initial reports described excessive contamination in local rice. Dakarposte reported levels above 50% among samples of local rice collected at the Tilène and Petersen markets in Dakar. However, Babacar Beye, head of the mycotoxins laboratory at the Institute of Food Technology, later said the contaminated samples involved imported rice rather than Senegalese production, according to Thiès Info and Nations Hebdo.
This distinction matters for commercial decisions. If imported rice was affected, authorities and buyers would need to establish the relevant origins, shipments and lots before considering targeted controls. If locally produced rice was involved, scrutiny would instead fall on domestic storage, handling and distribution. The available reports do not identify suppliers, countries of origin, brands or individual lots, making broad conclusions about either supply channel premature.
Government rejects generalized contamination
On July 26, the Ministry of Industry and Trade formally rejected claims that rice contamination was widespread. Le Soleil reported that more than 2,000 analyses had been performed between January and June 2026 by specialized institutions, including the National Laboratory for Analysis and Control, the Institute of Food Technology, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, École Supérieure Polytechnique and Ceres-Locustox. The government said the available evidence did not demonstrate a generalized health risk and characterized the disputed research as a limited pilot study.
The episode comes at a sensitive moment for Senegal’s rice market. Earlier in July, the country suspended rice imports to help market 37,000 tonnes of domestic production, according to national broadcaster RTS. The aflatoxin dispute could therefore influence consumer confidence precisely when authorities are seeking to clear local stocks. For producers, importers and traders, the immediate need is lot-level traceability and publication of the sampling method, regulatory thresholds and laboratory results. Without those details, consumers cannot distinguish a limited compliance problem from a broader supply-chain risk, while legitimate operators face reputational damage regardless of whether their rice was tested.
