The Commerce and Industry Ministry has confiscated 100,000 bottles of postdated milk and juices produced by dairy company Nadec, Al-Eqtisadiah reported yesterday.
Three cases have been filed against the company at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, the paper said, adding the Court of Grievances would issue its final verdict against the company shortly.
Informed sources said the bottles were confiscated after they entered the company’s warehouses.
Postdating bottles is against the law, the ministry said.
The ministry had received a number of complaints from consumers before, it said.
It added officials at Nadec would be prosecuted.
Another source at the ministry said it would publicize the names of companies that violate regulations and put consumers’ health in jeopardy.
The ministry had earlier publicized cases involving Danube for selling expired food products, Salim Banaeem for trade fraud and Al-Oulaqi for trade fraud.
The source said the names of companies involved in trade fraud, cover-up business and unjustifiably increasing prices would be published.
The punishments will be handed out depending on the seriousness of the offense, he added.
Ramadan stalls
Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has warned consumers not to purchase products such as fruits, vegetables, food and drinks from open-air street vendors.
"We are advising consumers that many of the items such as liver, baleela, fruits and vegetables as well as juices and the traditional subiya could be harmful if purchased from stalls that come up during Ramadan," Nasser Al-Tuwaim, president of the Consumer Protection Association, told Arab News.
He added that the reason is many stalls are being operated in above average summertime temperatures that could allow bacteria and other germs to spread.
"Many of these products are made before sunset and sold without refrigeration for up to 10 hours until sunrise," Al-Tuwaim added.
Arab News investigated various street stalls around Jeddah and found a majority of vendors are serving food without wearing gloves or adequately washing fruit or appliances like blenders, used to make juices.
Some stalls in Al-Balad or in downtown Jeddah were located in unsanitary places such as beside collapsed buildings or near garbage cans.
A trip to the Jeddah vegetable market found several expats digging in garbage cans, retrieving fruit and vegetables, repacking them and selling them to unsuspecting consumers at roadside stalls.
“The vegetable market and supermarkets are so busy that many consumers not wanting to deal with traffic opt instead to purchase what they need from nearby street vendors. We advise that for the sake of one's health to endure the rush at regular supermarkets and avoid street vendors," Al-Tuwaim warned. Dr. Wafa Al-Redwan, a pediatrician at Hessa Bint Bin Laden Polyclinic in Jeddah agreed with the warning. “Children are especially susceptible to stomach viruses and other illnesses from consuming food sold by street vendors.”
