RIYADH, 25 August 2007 — Huge quantities of nuts tainted with a carcinogenic substance are being sold in the markets of Riyadh, according to recent media reports.
Al-Riyadh newspaper said it received copies of documents relating to the issue from the Food and Drug Committee, which is taking necessary steps to deal with the problem.
The committee said that peanuts tainted with aflatoxin, a deadly poison produced by certain fungi in food and which can cause liver damage and cancer, are being sold in Riyadh. Aflatoxin is often found in nuts stored in poor conditions.
A random sample of nuts was examined by the Food and Drug Committee and found tainted with aflatoxin. However, the kinds of nuts and their country of origin were not mentioned in the report. Health specialists said there was an urgent need to remove all contaminated nuts from the market to protect consumers’ health.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani, a health specialist, urged the Food and Drug Committee to be open and inform people about an issue that can potentially affect their health.
“The committee must disclose the names of the countries from which these nuts originate, even if this harms businessmen and investors,” Al-Qahtani added.
Tumadir Kurdi, a specialist in food poisoning, said that aflatoxin is highly dangerous. “Aflatoxin may lead to fetus deformation and result in growth problems,” she said, adding that nuts, rice and milk can all get affected by aflatoxin.
Kurdi said that the toxic substance could damage the liver, cause lung cancer if inhaled and lead to serious poisoning if a person eats great amounts of food tainted by aflatoxin. “When eating such food, a person starts vomiting, gets fever, and suffers a stomachache. The skin ultimately turns yellow. Antibiotics would not be very helpful,” she added.
