CAIRO, EGYPT — A French wheat shipment Egypt had recently rejected due to high levels of ergot has been re-tested and found to have acceptable levels, Reuters reported on April 13.
The cargo at the Red Sea port of Safaga will be offloaded and distributed to flour mills after the test showed a 0.01% level of ergot, a grain fungus, Othman Mohammad Younes, general manager of the Safaga silo, told Reuters.
The cargo, which contains 63,000 tonnes of French wheat, originally was rejected for having an ergot level of 0.1%. The acceptable level is 0.05%.
Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, in 2016 reinstated a ban on even trace levels of ergot. However, the government later adopted an internationally recognized standard to allow up to 0.05% ergot in wheat.
Ergot is a common grain fungus that is harmless in low quantities but may cause hallucinations when consumed in large amounts.