Erbil fines businesses, destroys expired food in 2025 drive

Shafaq News– Erbil

Authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region seized and destroyed 559 tons of expired and unfit food in Erbil in 2025 after carrying out more than 14,000 inspections of markets, warehouses, and retail outlets, a local official said on Monday.

Hawkar Ali, director of Erbil’s Trade Inspection Directorate, told Shafaq News that oversight teams conducted 14,020 visits during the year, issuing fines to 1,619 businesses for regulatory violations and fully shutting down 160 premises. Total fines collected reached about $275,000, while 28 cases were referred to the courts, 17 of which have been settled.

To help stabilize food prices, authorities also supplied bakeries with around 5.1 million liters of liquefied gas to support bread production, Ali added.

He added that Erbil hosts 21 table-egg production projects, meeting roughly half of local demand, with the remaining output supplied to markets in central and southern Iraq.

Similar food safety operations were also reported elsewhere in the country in 2025. In May that year, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) seized 120 kg of spoiled milk among other unsafe consumables.