Although considered a healthy product and widely used in food, sesame seeds imported into Albania in January 2026 have been found to be contaminated with aflatoxin, posing a potential risk to human health.
The alarm has been raised by the European Union, which has notified Albanian authorities that, after laboratory tests, the presence of this dangerous toxin has been found in black sesame seeds originating from Bolivia.
The National Food Authority (AKU) reports that the total quantity of sesame seeds originating from Bolivia imported into our country is 300 kilograms. Of this quantity, 288.5 (two hundred eighty-eight point five) kilograms have been sold and consumed by citizens, while only 11.5 (eleven point five) kilograms have been seized.
The contaminated product has been distributed to several cities in the country, specifically in Tirana, Durrës, Lezhë, Shkodër, Elbasan, Korçë, Pogradec, Vlorë, Fier and Gjirokastër, spreading the risk to almost the entire territory of Albania.
Even in this case, the NFA, as the institution responsible for food safety, instead of checking food products before they enter the Albanian market, suffices with going to the media to publish statements and statistics, since the product has already been consumed by citizens.
Aflatoxin is a poisonous toxin that damages the liver and, if consumed over a long period of time, significantly increases the risk of developing cancer. The risk becomes even more serious in the case of sesame seeds, as aflatoxin is invisible, tasteless and cannot be eliminated by washing or cooking, leaving the consumer completely unprotected.
