Jeddah Municipality is currently intensifying its inspection tours of herbal remedy shops to ensure strict application of legal standards after many outlets had been found to be selling illegal products or trading goods without proper license. According to municipality officials, the sale of products and preparations labeled as medical, such as diet products, skin-lightening creams, sexual stimulants and many other similar items require permission from the Ministry of Health. Officials say that only the municipality is permitted to issue licenses for herbal shops besides the Ministry of Health when the owner wishes to sell cosmetic products. Shop owners, who often sell a wide range of cosmetics and other items in addition to herbal remedies, are fined should they break the law in this respect. A committee consisting of Municipality, Governorate, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Commerce representatives ensures that traders obtain licenses and that their products are safe for human consumption. The committee has the authority to close shops that fail to follow the law. The increase in pressure on store owners to apply standards strictly follows a recent study from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) showing that more than 45 unsafe herbal preparations are on sale in herbal shops, half of which are of unknown contents. The authorities are working to recall the preparations. A list published by the Ministry of Rural Affairs stipulates what may be sold in traditional herbal shops and is available at the SFDA website http://www.sfda.gov.sa. The SFDA says it is working with the Municipality, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the manufacturers of illegal preparations.
