RIYADH, 5 March 2007 — Minister of Commerce and Industry Hashim Yamani said yesterday that tainted taheena being sold in Saudi markets did not cause cancer. His comment followed newspaper reports of 10 local factories producing taheena mixed with titanium dioxide.

Titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment. It is used to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, coatings, plastics, papers, inks, foods, and most toothpastes. Used as a white food dye, it has E number E171. It is also used in cosmetic and skin care products, and it is present in almost every sunblock where it helps protect the skin from ultraviolet light.

The minister said that the ministry had “closely followed the topic of additives to food products, especially what has been published in the local media about taheena and has requested information from the specified government body — General Authority for Food and Medicine. “The General Authority informed us that the additives did not cause any health problems and had nothing to do with cancer.”

Yamani was summoned by the Shoura Council yesterday to an open discussion concerning the hike in prices of consumer goods and foodstuffs in the Kingdom. Saudi consumers have complained of increase in retail prices with some foodstuff prices going up as much as 30 percent.

Shoura members questioned Yamani about the tainted taheena issue. He is the second minister to be summoned this year by the Council; the first was Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al-Angari last month.

Sources told Arab News that the minister informed the Shoura that the increase in prices of consumer products in the Kingdom last year was part of a global trend and not due to any failure on the part of the ministry. He specified three possible reasons for the price increase in the Saudi market:

— The increase of international prices due to the change in demand and production from different countries,

— Increase in insurance and cargo prices and

— Foreign exchange rates.

Yamani said his ministry had a role to play in monitoring increased prices, especially if they were linked to one retailer or to a monopoly by wholesale merchants. He noted, however, that the ministry’s role was not to interfere free-market forces and that it interfered only when retailers hiked prices because of greed.

“To all basic consumer products sold in the Saudi market, there are several alternatives of the same quality and a person may look until he finds an item which suits his ability to pay,” he added.

Arab News learned that some Shoura members during the session with the minister had requested that measures be taken to protect consumers, such as the formation of consumer product committees in order to protect consumers against price variations.

Yamani said that the ministry was in the process of preparing a report to be submitted to the Council explaining the price increases. He called upon the Saudi public to participate by sending relevant questions by e-mail or fax to the Shoura Council.

President of the Shoura Council Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid said that summoning officials to the Council was part of its role in improving the performance of government bodies.

He noted that a clear example was the summoning of ministers and heads of government bodies to discuss their annual report. He also said that the Council helped other government bodies by proposing ideas to resolve their problems.

— Additional input by Ben Dyal