Employees of a European company carry out quality checks on almonds in 2017. Camcontrol recently warned that almonds from the French brand Uberti were found to contain potentially poisonous levels of hydrogen cyanide. Patrik Stollarz/AFP
The Ministry of Commerce issued a warning on Friday about almonds from the French brand Uberti, which have been found to contain dangerous levels of prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide.
The ministry’s Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (Camcontrol) is confiscating the product and warning distributors about Uberti’s bitter apricot almonds after inspectors in France found that they contains more than 500 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per kilogram, far above the legal limit of 20 milligrams per kilogram.
According to the announcement, consumption of the acid above the legal limit might cause Vitamin B12 deficiency, low blood pressure, nerve inflammation and neurological tissue damage.
Camcontrol ordered a block on the import of the products, and sent notifications to local importers and wholesalers.
“Please don’t buy the above products and give information [to Camcontrol],” the announcement reads.
A Camcontrol staffer, who declined to give his name, said that officials would search for the products nationwide. “When we find it, we will confiscate and destroy it,” he said.
