Saudi Arabia bans European fresh, canned veggies

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has banned the import of canned vegetables and salad from Europe, a move that comes a day after the Agriculture Ministry issued a temporary ban on the import of fresh vegetables from the continent. The authority has directed the laboratories at all the entry points to the Kingdom to minutely monitor the situation and prevent any consignment of the banned products from entering. The move is part of the precautionary measures to prevent entry of agricultural products contaminated by the E. coli virus. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Dr. Ebrahim Al Mohaizie, deputy head of the food sector at SFDA, reaffirmed that Saudi Arabia is free from the deadly virus. "There is no cause for worry and the situation is satisfactory in the Kingdom. The authority is strictly monitoring all the foodstuffs imported from Europe and other countries," he said. Dr. Al Mohaizie also said that SFDA is soon going to become the supreme authority in charge of ensuring food safety in the Kingdom. "The authority would take over additional powers of licensing, ensuring quality and standard, monitoring of foodstuffs as well as major factories and warehouses of foodstuffs, effective from next month," he said. According to Dr. Al Mohaizie, the early warning centre pertaining to food safety at SFDA has been working in coordination with the ministries of health and agriculture. He advised the public to take precautionary measures in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly virus. This included personal hygiene, proper washing of vegetables while cooking and serving them, and washing hands before and after taking vegetables. The official warned against the potential risks involved in the fruit and vegetables coming from farms that are not maintained in the proper manner. Dr. Al Mohaizie also drew attention to the fact that the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture to temporary halt import of vegetables from Europe was the result of a recommendation from SFDA as a precautionary measure. As a follow up of this, the authority also exercised its power to slap a ban on the import of canned vegetables from Europe, he said. It is noteworthy that Minister of Agriculture Dr. Fahd Balghunaim had ordered earlier for a temporary ban on import of fresh vegetables from European countries. Accordingly the import ban came into effect Wednesday. The minister said that the ban would continue until the source of the virus becomes clear. Balghunaim also confirmed that E. coli infected cucumbers that appeared last week in European countries have not entered the Kingdom. "Due to strict measures taken at the ports no infected produce has been allowed to pass into the Saudi market," Balghunaim said, adding that EU countries are in no way a source for imported produce in the Kingdom. From / Gulf News