Abdulrahman Al-Misbahi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Contrary to the claims of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and Deputy Chairman of the Pharmacies Committee in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Siraj Abed who said that all consignments of contaminated infant milk formula have been withdrawn from pharmacies Kingdomwide, a woman in Makkah was surprised to find the tainted product being sold at a local pharmacy. The SFDA, which on Monday assured consumers that dairy products from New Zealand tainted with a botulism-causing bacteria had not been cleared for sale in the local market, warned consumers on Saturday against using Similac Gain Plus 3 having batch numbers released earlier. The SFDA also announced on Saturday that it has so far taken off the shelves 420,000 milk cans of different sizes. It noted that this huge number does not mean that all the tainted milk cans have been removed from the market. The woman, who identified herself only with her first name Wafa, purchased the tainted product four days after the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced the seizure of bacteria-contaminated Similac Gain Plus infant milk formula from the shelves in Riyadh. The woman sent to Okaz/Saudi Gazette a picture showing the 400-gram can of milk powder purchased by her having the same batch number (245734k429) which the ministry announced a few days ago as being tainted with the bacteria which causes botulism, a potentially fatal disease which affects the muscles and can cause respiratory problems. “How is it being said that the product has not reached the market when it is there and I have bought it?” asked Wafa in her letter to Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Meanwhile, Siraj Abed told Okaz/Saudi Gazette the committee has received letters from the importer of the tainted infant milk formula promising to compensate traders for the losses they have incurred. Ironically, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra moved to assure parents on Wednesday that tainted baby formula which sparked global safety recalls had all been removed from retailer's shelves. Products containing the potentially deadly bug which had been distributed from China to Saudi Arabia were no longer in the shops, Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings claimed. “All the stocks have been contained, everything is out of the market. It's in warehouses and there is little or no more risk for consumers,” he told reporters in Auckland. Authorities have been scrambling to collect cans of formula since Fonterra revealed last Saturday that they contained a whey product contaminated with the bacteria.
