Analytical Article – minm.ma
In November 2025, social media and news platforms ignited with near-confirmed reports about the “withdrawal” or “ban” of the famous Moroccan olive oil “Oued Souss” from European markets, allegedly due to dangerous levels of a banned pesticide, “Chlorpyrifos”.
These reports created a state of panic among consumers, placing the producing company and Moroccan health authorities in a difficult position, and presenting the matter as a “health scandal” and a “total European ban” on Moroccan oil.
However, by tracing the story’s threads and consulting official documents, it becomes clear that we are not facing a widespread “European ban,” but rather a classic example of a “Fake News storm” fed by an old half-truth, in a tense commercial and political context, with a clear targeting of a successful national product.
This article attempts to break down the story into its essential elements, distinguishing between:
- An established fact: A limited recall of one bottle in a Belgian store in 2024.
- A defensive version: Speaking of a counterfeit or an unknown-origin product.
- A broader context: European alerts about Moroccan olives, exploited to fuel the rumor.
1. No European ban on “Oued Souss” oil or Moroccan oil
The first point to clarify to remove any ambiguity:
- There is no official European or Belgian decision banning “Oued Souss” oil or its entry into the European Union.
- The National Office for Food Safety
(ONSSA)
confirmed in several statements that no case of official Moroccan olive oil shipments being returned from Europe due to pesticides was recorded in 2025. - The Moroccan Olive Interprofessional Federation
(Interprolive)
also described the news of “returned cargoes” as unfounded rumors, recalling that Morocco has intensified pesticide residue analysis (thousands of samples annually).
Therefore, talk of a “total ban” or “Moroccan oil being expelled from Europe” is just a sensationalist headline, not supported by any official documents.
2. The Established Fact: The “Brussels Bottle” (November 2024)
The origin of the story dates back to November 14, 2024. On this date, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain in Belgium
(AFSCA)
issued an official product “recall” notice for an olive oil branded “Oued Souss”.
The details of the Belgian notice were as follows:
- Location: A very limited recall, concerning products sold in a single store, “Firdaous Shop” in Brussels.
- Product: Olive oil labeled with the “Oued Souss” brand, in a 1-liter plastic bottle.
- Type of action: Recall from consumers, not a general “prohibition” or “ban”.
As for the reasons for the recall, they were clear:
- Labeling and Traceability Problem: The notice indicated that the bottle had no expiration date or lot number, making product traceability impossible, which is an infraction in itself within the EU.
- Pesticide Problem: The analyses revealed a “very high content of residues of a phytopharmaceutical product (Chlorpyrifos)” in this bottle.
This is the half-truth that fueled the November 2025 storm: yes, Belgian authorities detected a bottle labeled “Oued Souss” containing a banned pesticide in 2024, but the incident was very limited, managed locally at a single store, and never escalated into a “total European ban”.
3. The Moroccan Counter-Narrative: “The Unknown-Origin Product”
After this 2024 notice resurfaced amidst the 2025 controversy, neither the producing company nor the Moroccan authorities remained inactive.
3.1 Statement from “Les Huileries du Souss”
“Les Huileries du Souss,” the owner of the “Oued Souss” brand, issued a strong statement:
- “Categorically” denying that the bottle implicated in Belgium came from its official production.
- Considering the circulated information as part of an “orchestrated smear campaign” targeting its reputation and that of a flagship national product.
- Basing its defense on the very point raised by the Belgian notice: the absence of a lot number and expiration date, considering this as proof that the bottle was of “unknown origin” or “counterfeit,” and not part of its controlled production chain, which always carries complete traceability data.
From the company’s perspective, the conclusion is simple:
The bottle analyzed in Belgium is not authentic “Oued Souss” oil, but a counterfeit product exploiting the brand name.
3.2 ONSSA Supports the Defensive Narrative
The National Food Safety Office
(ONSSA)
, for its part:
- “Categorically” denied the return of official Moroccan olive oil shipments from Europe in 2025.
- Regarding the 2024 incident, it focused, in reported statements, on it being an “labeling issue” (absence of mandatory data), which prevented traceability and confirmation of the product’s origin.
It is noteworthy that both the company and ONSSA focused on the labeling and traceability issue, avoiding delving into the “pesticide accusation,” thereby presenting a narrative that this was an unknown-origin product, not linked to official Moroccan exports.
4. The European Context: Why Did the Crisis Erupt in November 2025?
The central question remains: Why did a limited incident from 2024 resurface so forcefully in November 2025?
The answer lies in the general context surrounding Moroccan agricultural products in the European market.
During the summer and fall of 2025, the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (
RASFF
) recorded genuine alerts concerning:
- Moroccan green olives (the fruit, not oil):
A “serious” alert for the presence of chlorpyrifos-ethyl residues above the authorized limit in a batch of green olives destined for France. - Moroccan olives destined for Spain:
Another alert for the presence of unauthorized additives (like sulfites) in a preserved olive product.
These alerts helped create a climate of suspicion towards some Moroccan agricultural products among a segment of the European public, which was exploited by the rumor-mongers.
What happened in November 2025 was a dangerous media amalgamation of:
- Recent and real alerts about Moroccan olives (the fruit).
- An old and limited incident concerning a bottle of “Oued Souss” oil in Belgium in 2024.
- A defensive Moroccan narrative focused on “labeling” and avoiding the pesticide issue.
From this mix, a new, misleading narrative emerged: “Oued Souss oil is now banned in Europe due to Chlorpyrifos poisoning.”
Whereas the truth, according to available documents, is:
- A single, old incident,
- Limited to a single store,
- Which did not turn into a ban,
- And no official, documented Moroccan shipment was returned in 2025 for this reason.
5. “Oued Souss” Oil: An
Historic Brand Becomes a Target
“Oued Souss” oil is not a marginal product:
- It is one of the most famous oil brands in Morocco,
- Present on the market for decades,
- And featured on the official website of the
Huileries du Souss Belhassan
group as part of the group’s identity and its national brands.
This strong presence in the local market, and among the Moroccan diaspora abroad, makes the brand:
- A “prime target” for anyone wanting to shake consumer confidence in national products,
- Or to use the pesticide issue in a “soft trade war” within European and regional markets.
6. Are We Facing an Orchestrated Attack?
When we put all the facts together:
- An isolated Belgian incident in 2024 (one bottle / one store).
- Absence of any official decision to ban or return official shipments in 2025, according to
ONSSA
and
Interprolive. - RASFF
alerts concerning other products (olives), exploited to generalize a “Moroccan Chlorpyrifos danger”. - Targeting a well-known and popular brand, with the repetition of the same messages and images on different platforms.
All this makes the scenario closer to:
An orchestrated smear attack based on partially true information, but reported incompletely and biasedly, to destroy trust in a national product.
7. In Defense of “Oued Souss” Oil and National Products
Defending “Oued Souss” oil does not mean denying pesticide risks or whitewashing everything national, but rather:
- Acknowledging the incident as it is: a bottle labeled “Oued Souss” in Belgium, of dubious origin, was found with a banned pesticide and was immediately recalled.
- Stressing that this isolated incident does not justify the discourse of a “European ban” or “poisoned oil”.
- Recalling the brand’s history, its long presence in homes, restaurants, and markets, with no record of an official ban in Europe.
- Highlighting that Morocco, through
ONSSA,
is genuinely strengthening controls on the oil sector, withdrawing licenses, suspending non-compliant units, and destroying tons of bad oil, instead of protecting fraud.
In this sense, defending “Oued Souss” oil is, fundamentally:
- A defense of the consumer’s right to a safe product,
- And a defense of the right of Moroccan farmers, workers, and manufacturers not to have their reputation destroyed by an old “screenshot” and an organized Facebook campaign.
In Conclusion
What “Oued Souss” oil is experiencing today expresses something bigger than a battle over a single bottle of oil; it is a conflict between two narratives:
- A first narrative that says: “Moroccan oil is poisoned and rejected by Europe.”
- And a second narrative, supported by official documents, that says: “There is a smear campaign exploiting an isolated incident and disparate alerts to generalize doubt about an entire national product.”
At minm.ma, we clearly lean towards the second narrative, not out of blind chauvinism, but based on the available official data and context analysis.
The final judgment rests with the reader, on one condition:
That the full story is presented, not just the half-truth that serves sensationalism at the expense of reality.
