Controversy over expiry date of energy bars sent to Gaza

CAIRO (dpa): Controversy erupted online regarding energy bars delivered as part of aid to the Gaza Strip, after people found it expires in few weeks.

A truck carrying goods delivered by the Egyptian Red Crescent overturned inside the besieged coastal enclave, the Egyptian Red Crescent said on Sunday.

Pictures and videos circulated with people criticizing that the date printed on the bars shows they will expire in two weeks.

The date biscuits are provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of the aid convoys delivered to the strip by the Egyptian Red Crescent.

The WFP said in a post on platform X that the "biscuits in Gaza are safe to eat for the weeks indicated on the packs until early next month."

The UN agency said the bars are expected to be distributed and eaten before this date.

They are ideal for emergencies, as families need condensed nutrition and are not able to cook, the WFP added.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said that many of the roads in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed due to the ongoing war, which makes similar accidents a possibility.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, a total of 451 trucks have so far arrived in the Gaza Strip. - dpa