The content creator Christian Arbolaez reported on Facebook this Wednesday that, after five months without distribution, the bread intended for children and seniors over 65 years old arrived at the warehouses in Cárdenas, Matanzas, in a condition he deemed unacceptable.
Arbolaez described the product bluntly: "They are 'breads', if we can call them that, cracked, crumbled, with a very unappealing appearance."
The photographs accompanying your post show irregularly shaped loaves, cracked surfaces, crumbling parts, and a crumb with uneven holes. In at least one case, the inside appears with a grayish tone and a dense texture with very little fluffiness.
The headline of their publication summarized the situation with an ironic warning: "ONE LOAF EVERY FIVE MONTHS: AND BE CAREFUL, YOU MIGHT BREAK A TOOTH!"
He also issued a direct challenge to those who developed and authorized the distribution: "I would like one of the people responsible for creating, distributing, and producing such a product to sit at the table and eat it. Let's see if, after taking the first bite, they don't end up looking for a dentist to fix a tooth."
"Don't be so abusive towards the people! If we do the math, it would amount to two loaves of bread a year. We're talking about children and the elderly, not animals!!!," the communicator added.
A commentator claimed to have witnessed the transportation of the product: “Yesterday I was passing by a point and saw how they brought those boxes highlighted above that board as if it were for the pigs.”
Another Cuban confessed, "Well, I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since they've come. At least, no matter how bad they were, some mothers used it for snacks."
"There are no words to express such abuse" and "it's all a lack of respect and they feel no shame," expressed residents of Cárdenas.
The bread problem in Cuba has remained unsolved for decades, and increasingly less is sold in the bodegas. Throughout 2026, similar situations have been documented in Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Havana, with flattened bread, with dark stains and a weight lower than the established amount.
The official weight of the standardized loaf of bread decreased from 80 to 60 grams in September 2024; during 2026, portions of up to 40 grams were reported in some provinces. In Villa Clara, the bread from the state store has been restricted since February 2026 to those under 13 and over 65 years old, the same groups that are now receiving the product reported in Cárdenas.
The Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, acknowledged in June 2026 that a shipment of 5,000 tons of flour was removed from a ship before it set sail. The shortage may have led to mixing wheat flour with cassava pulp, sweet potato, or corn, which affects the texture, flavor, and preservation of the product.
Cárdenas had already accumulated concerning records: in March 2026, the municipality was identified as one of the most affected by the shortage of infant milk, receiving only 800 out of the 4,800 liters per day that it needed, according to reports on the food crisis in Matanzas.
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