Summoning of Deputy Minister of Health Over Contaminated Milk, Artificial Rice, and Chicken Paste Case

A lawyer announced on Tuesday, December 1, that the Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, and the Head of the Food and Drug Organization of this ministry have been summoned to the Government Employees Court. According to the state news agency IRNA, the reason for this complaint to the judiciary is the lack of oversight over the production of artificial rice, palm-contaminated milk, and chicken paste. Mustafa Torkhamdani, the lawyer, stated that this summons came after a complaint from several lawyers, and he will go to the Government Employees Court to provide explanations. On August 16, a number of lawyers in Iran filed a complaint against Rasoul Dinarvand, the Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, and the Head of the Food and Drug Organization, as well as former heads of the Standard Organization for using palm oil in dairy products. This complaint was filed by Mustafa Torkhamdani, Peyman Haj Mahmoud Attar, and Farshid Rafiei Naeini and referred to Branch 15 of the Government Employees Court. These three lawyers filed the complaint based on the Food and Beverage and Cosmetic and Hygiene Law and the Governmental Punishments Law regarding health and medical affairs, as well as the Islamic Penal Code concerning the negligence of government officials. Additionally, Hamshahri Online reported in October that a number of lawyers had complained to the judiciary against the Deputy Minister of Health and the Head of the Food and Drug Organization for 'lack of oversight over the production of chicken paste and rice paste.' Previous reports indicated that some factories in Iran were turning half-grain rice into paste and using machines to convert it into regular rice or long-grain rice, selling it under the label of high-quality Iranian rice. According to ISNA, the chicken paste produced in Iran is a liquid resulting from grinding the remaining skeletons of chickens from which the thighs and breasts have been removed, and this paste is also 'rich in the remains of abdominal and thoracic organs.' Currently, chicken paste 'constitutes the main and base material of many meat products in Iran.' The issue of using palm oil in dairy products has also made headlines in recent months, with Iranian media covering it. In this context, media reported on August 16 that this case had become judicial. Iranian officials referred to this type of product as 'the worst type of industrial fat.' For instance, according to Khabar Online, Hassan Hashemi, the Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, stated in August that palm oil 'is harmful to health due to its quality, and the violations present in dairy products indicate that instead of natural fat, the worst type of industrial fat has been used.' Following this, it was announced that five dairy companies using palm oil had been sealed. Nevertheless, Rasoul Dinarvand, the Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, and Head of the Food and Drug Organization, refrained from disclosing the names of the violating factories, deeming this act 'un-Islamic.' Meanwhile, Article 43 of the Governmental Punishments Law regarding health and medical affairs states that the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education is obliged to regularly announce the names of permitted and prohibited goods (edible, drinkable, cosmetic, and hygienic) for public awareness in an appropriate manner.