The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) is investigating rumors of certain levels of insecticide in some types of food. The investigation is in line with a Royal Decree, said Dr. Muhammad Al-Kanhal, CEO of the SFDA. “The SFDA has mobilized its staff and labs to find out the truth and present it to the consumer.” Al-Kanhal was quoted by Al-Watan Arabic daily as saying that the SFDA focuses on widely-consumed food, takes 6,000 samples and conducts tests for 300 types of insecticides in one sample. In America and Europe, food authorities conduct tests for only 100 insecticides, he added. He said the SFDA tests are reliable and will allow the authorities to take the right decision. He said the SFDA has a special laboratory for conducting tests on samples taken from fruits, vegetables and grains. The SFDA has the necessary expertise and equipment and a laboratory, run by Saudi chemists, not found in other developing countries, he said. The laboratory tests also check the packaging of food to see if any plastic material has dissolved into the food, he added. The SFDA lists on its website locally-made or imported products that violate its regulations. This is to raise public awareness about these products, he pointed out. The SFDA has a monitoring role and a duty towards the general public. It will not list any products unless it has done all the necessary tests. “The SFDA follows a transparent policy. We're not trying to damage the reputation of any company. We're just doing our job which is to educate consumers about these products. Listing products violating SFDA standards isn't the only measure we take, we also notify concerned authorities to ban the entry of these products into Saudi territory.” Responding to a question about fake products in the market, Al-Kanhal said the SFDA uses different levels of monitoring to prevent fake products from entering the local market. “I don't think that our markets are full of fake products.” If the SFDA finds a fake product, it conducts a test and writes a letter, with the results, to the ministries of Health, Commerce and Industry or Municipal and Rural Affairs to withdraw the product from the market, he said. Besides, if the SFDA finds a shop which sells products that violate its standards, it confiscates the product and demands that the shop be shut down by concerned authorities, he added. The SFDA has pharmacists and laboratory specialists at all ports of entry through which medicines are transported, he said. “Currently the SFDA is responsible for imported food and in the future we'll be responsible for locally-made food as well.”
