Halabja Governorate building
Ongoing market inspections
Halabja steps up Ramadan market inspections to curb expired food sales
HALABJA — Health teams here are intensifying inspections during Ramadan to prevent the sale of expired goods, according to local health officials. The effort includes visits to markets, confectionery workshops and public spaces, where inspectors say they have already handed down penalties and confiscated unsafe products.
“Our teams visited several businesses and provided health guidance,” said Akram Mohammed Agha, head of Halabja’s health protection directorate. He noted that four businesses were fined and six others received official warnings for failing to comply with regulations. A quantity of expired food items was also seized.
Mohammed Agha added that inspections would continue throughout Ramadan. “Authorities will not allow the sale of unsafe food products that could endanger public health,” he said.
Halabja, recognized as a governorate by the Kurdistan Regional Government, is situated near the Iranian border and lies about 83 kilometers southeast of Sulaymaniyah. This stepped-up inspection program follows a similar sweep in late January, when officials confiscated expired food and fined four businesses.
In addition to local market checks, authorities have been monitoring border crossings. In 2024, a total of 89,192 tons of agricultural and commercial goods entered the Kurdistan Region through the Shushme crossing, which links Halabja Governorate with Iran’s Kermanshah Province. Of those imports, about 196,630 kilograms were deemed unfit and were seized before being sent back to Iran.
