Ergot

By tracking the path of a Russian wheat shipment loaded onto a cargo ship headed to Egypt, this investigation reveals how the Egyptian government – through a series of decisions – allowed the entry of wheat shipments contaminated with the toxic fungus, ergot, into the country, and onto Egyptian tables, at rates exceeding Egyptian standards, internationally permissible limits and the Law on Plant Quarantine. Between 2010 and 2016, 27 million tonnes of these shipments were allowed in to the country.