RIYADH, 28 May — Supermarkets and groceries in Saudi Arabia are openly selling Kelloggs products, including cornflakes, which were removed from shop shelves in the UAE last week after it was discovered that the products of this American company contain pork gelatin.
The supermarkets surveyed by Arab News said that they have no instructions from officials and have no knowledge about the controversy surrounding Kelloggs products.
Although a full-fledged campaign has been launched by a group of individuals in cooperation with the Islamic News and Information (ININ) network on the Internet to ban the Kelloggs products immediately, there was no immediate reaction from the Ministry of Commerce. “The idea is to alert the Muslim community to boycott Kelloggs products, which contain pork gelatin”, said an ININ mail received by Arab News.
Asked about the sale of Kelloggs products in Saudi Arabia, an official of the Binzagr Co., the local agent for the products, said on condition of anonymity that “they have knowledge about the controversy surrounding the products”. But he refused to comment, saying he was “not aware of the issue in detail, which is subject to further debate, scrutiny and eventually lab investigations”.
Kelloggs brands widely sold in the Gulf states, including the Kingdom, are Kelloggs rice krispies, chocholate squares and Kelloggs pop tarts and breakfast cereals.
A reply on behalf of Kelloggs company also confirm the presence of pork gelatin. “Kelloggs brands contain pork gelatin and only ‘gelatin’ is listed on the ingredients panel,” said Emma Dobbin of Kelloggs Consumer Services.
This confirmation proves that import of Kelloggs products is a gross violation Kingdom’s trade regulations, which ban products containing pork elements.
Saudi Arabia has already banned more than 21 items, including pork, dogs, frog meat, liquid milk with long expiry period, animal fats, intoxicants and night binoculars, because they are inconsistent with the teachings of Islam and the social ethics of the country.
Asked how the presence of pork gelatin could be confirmed, some local businessmen said that the Kelloggs products must be examined immediately at local labs.
The Kingdom has set up a world-class laboratory at the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) to test products containing pork ingredients. SASO also works closely with other health and food ogranizations to carry out investigations.
The products are also being tested by the laboratories in the UAE, according to a report published in Gulf News recently. The report said that “Kelloggs brands have been removed from supermarket shelves across the UAE, based on findings by two civic laboratories that they contain pork elements.” Although the brands are thought to contain pork, the issue is being discussed further by the government agencies, said the report.
Other Gulf states are also being informed about the conspiracy of some Western and American companies to dump pork and products with pork ingredients in their markets.
