“There is nothing to panic as the volume of Saudi imports of vegetables from Europe is negligible, because of the high prices in European countries,” said Saad Abdullah Al-Ajlan, chief of the trade committee at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), here Tuesday.
Al-Ajlan urged consumers not to fear as there is no potential for an outbreak of such diseases in this region.
The Kingdom does not import cucumbers or other types of vegetables from Europe that are being identified as “contaminated,” he added.
More than 14 people have died in Germany and about 600 people have been admitted to hospitals across Europe after they encountered a highly virulent strain of bacteria that was first found on cucumbers imported from Spain.
Asked as how safe are the vegetables being sold in the local market, Al-Ajlan said the Kingdom imports fruits and vegetables mainly from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Turkey. China, India, Pakistan, Chile, the Philippines and South Africa and also sources of fruits and vegetables.
Over the last six years, Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian vegetables and fruits have flowed to Saudi markets in bulk quantities, said the RCCI official.
“A vegetable and fruit health certificate is mandatory in the Kingdom,” said another official, adding that Riyadh had taken all precautionary measures and it might suspend imports of vegetables from Europe because of the outbreak of the life-threatening stomach infection.
He urged the consumers not to fear as Saudi imports of vegetables from European countries are negligible.
“Moreover, we always ensure that our imports are free from any disease or contamination,” he added.
“A quality certificate must accompany all shipments of vegetables and fruits certifying that such exports are free from pests, infections, and other agricultural diseases,” said the RCCI official, while giving details of the safety measures currently in place.
He said the cucumbers, believed to have been imported from Spain, were contaminated with causing the death of people in Germany and Sweden.
“Moreover, we are concerned about Saudi citizens and students currently living or visiting those countries,” he said.
Asked about the measures taken by the Kingdom to ensure that the imported fruits and vegetables are safe; Shehim Mohammed Unni, regional director of Lulu Hypermarket, said: “We don’t import cucumbers from Spain or any part of Europe.”
He pointed out that the Saudi government agencies take stringent measures to check the quality of products.
The sample of every shipment of fruits and vegetables is tested on arrival at Saudi ports, he said.
Shehim said most Saudi merchants and hypermarkets had been importing mainly organic products, and that too in little quantity, from Europe.
Holland is a major source of the higher-priced produce items such as green and red lettuce and hothouse tomatoes.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm said the outbreak in Germany is one of the biggest of its kind worldwide and certainly the largest in Germany.
