Ministries of Health and Commerce said Saturday that they have no clue about the eight types of shampoo in the market containing toxic dioxine substances that might cause cancer announced by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (FDA) Friday. “The Ministry of Health has not been officially informed of those eight types of shampoo,” said Ali Zawawi, director of medical licenses and pharmacies at the ministry. “If we had officially been informed, we would have ordered the pharmacies to take the contaminated shampoos off their shelves,” he said, throwing direct responsibility on the Ministry of Commerce to clear the market off of those affected brands. “The Ministry of Health is still waiting for an official confirmation from FDA,” Zawawi added. “The Ministry of Commerce has not been informed either of those brands,” said Ahmad Muaber, director of anti-commercial fraud department in the ministry's branch in Jeddah. “Once the Ministry of Commerce receives official confirmation, it will act promptly,” he said. “The ministry, however, would double check and re-examine samples of the products to verify the claims,” he said. If confirmed, the ministry would be able to order wholesalers and retailers to destroy any quantity of the affected brands, he said. The eight less-known contaminated products were found in limited shops and pharmacies in Jeddah Saturday. The brands have been identified as Himalaya Herbals, Icare, Natural Care, Sehat – Cedr shampoo (two types), Corpore Sano Baby shampoo, Black Seed, and Double Rich.
