JEDDAH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has instructed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to make sure that the Kingdom is free of contaminated Chinese milk. It also urged the ministry not to allow any Chinese milk products into the Kingdom.
SFDA Executive President Mohammed Al-Kenhal said the Kingdom’s markets are free from Chinese milk products containing poisonous melamine. “We have contacted the ministry to take necessary measures to make sure that the Kingdom’s markets are free of Chinese milk,” he said.
The SFDA action came after China reported the death of four infants and sickening of more than 53,000 others as a result of drinking tainted milk products.
“We have also instructed the ministry not to release any Chinese milk product, either imported directly to the Kingdom or re-imported,” Al-Kenhal told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily.
He urged Saudis and expatriates not to consume Chinese milk products while going abroad. He said the SFDA had received information that many Chinese companies were supplying baby milk containing melamine that causes kidney failure.
“Consumption of this milk has resulted in creating kidney stones among children,” the authority said, adding that the consumption of such milk could cause kidney failure and death. Yemen is one of the importers of Chinese milk.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed that Saudi Arabia was not importing any milk products from China. Many local traders also said that there is no Chinese milk in the Kingdom’s markets.
China has vowed to stop tainted milk from reaching export markets. Markets that have banned or recalled Chinese milk products include Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
Melamine, high in nitrogen, makes products with it appear higher in protein. Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added it to watered-down milk to cover up the resulting protein deficiency.
