JEDDAH, 2 June — Abdullah Binzagr, president of Binzagr Co., the sole Kellogg’s distributor in Saudi Arabia, reiterated that Kellogg’s products brought into the Kingdom are imported from countries and Kellogg’s factories which do not use pork gelatin or derivatives.
He was reacting to a report in this newspaper on Tuesday entitled “Kingdom yet to act on US products with pork gelatin.” Bingazr termed the report inaccurate and misleading. “Every consignment is meticulously tested by the concerned government body as it enters the Kingdom. These laboratories apply the strictest standards to Kellogg’s and other food products before releasing them into the local market,” Binzagr pointed out.
He said that if the carton containing the Kellogg’s product is printed in Arabic and carries the name of Binzagr, then it has met the rigorous standards of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) necessary for it to be considered halal.
“Consumers in the Gulf Cooperation Council states have chosen Kellogg’s cereals as their favorite breakfast cereals for years. It is a relationship we’re proud of, take very seriously and are committed to maintaining. All breakfast cereals sold by Kellogg’s in the GCC are sourced from our European plants and are fully compliant with all local ingredients, packaging and other regulatory requirements,” a company statement pointed out.
“Kellogg’s sells its cereals through one sole distributor in each GCC country. Recently, however, a small number of Pop Tarts were imported by a non-Kellogg’s authorized independent importer and were subsequently removed from store shelves. We discourage such imports and will continue to take all steps necessary to minimize consumer confusion in the event it occurs,” the statement added.
