UN says it mistakenly sent 320 boxes of expired biscuits to besieged Syrians in Zabadani

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov take their seats following a photo a photo opportunity in Vienna, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. Kerry and his Russian, Saudi and Turkish counterparts met in Vienna on Friday, seeking to revive a moribund effort to end Syria's civil war. (Carlo Allegri/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry takes his seat for a meeting in Vienna, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. Kerry and his Russian, Saudi and Turkish counterparts met in Vienna on Friday, seeking to revive a moribund effort to end Syria's civil war. (Carlo Allegri/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – The United Nations says it has mistakenly sent hundreds of boxes of expired biscuits to besieged civilians near Damascus.

A total of 320 out of 650 boxes of high energy biscuits sent to Zabadani and Madaya on Oct. 18 as part of a relief convoy earlier this month had expired a month earlier.

"We can confirm that this was the result of an unfortunate human error during the loading process," says Yacoub El Hillo, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria in a statement Saturday.

He says the U.N. Syria team is taking the issue "very seriously" and working to rectify the situation. The statement adds that after checking with medical sources, the UN can confirm that the consumption of the expired biscuits poses no health threats.