Dubai intensifies inspection of health supplements for salmonella contamination

Dubai: Dubai Municipality has intensified inspection of health supplements to make sure they are free of products containing herbs contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

This follows a circular issued a few days ago by the US Food and Drug Administration to detect the contamination of health supplements containing “Kratom”, a herb with scientific name Mitragyna speciose, a senior official said in a press release on Tuesday.

The circular warned of the herb contaminated with salmonella bacteria that leads to serious health complications such as inflammation of the arteries, heart and joint nerves and others, said Reda Salman, director of the Health and Safety Department in the municipality.

He pointed out that that this tropical herb has serious medical uses similar to the therapeutic drugs used in the alleviation of severe pain, such as morphine and others.

“It will be added to the list of prohibited components approved by the municipality during the evaluation of health supplements, which is submitted for registration in the system of producers to register consumer products,” said Salman.

He highlighted the keenness of Dubai Municipality to continuously follow up on the latest international specialised publications related to the health and safety of consumer products issued by international health organisations and authorities such as the US Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada and the European Union.

Salman said the department has always been keen to talk to the relevant health bodies in the country such as the Ministry of Health and Prevention and other municipalities and take the necessary actions to ban the circulation of such products from the local markets in the country.

Naseem Mohammad Rafei, head of Consumer Products Section in the Health and Safety Department, pointed out the importance of using the smart app Montaji that is available in all smart electronic stores.

“The app includes databases of about 200,000 consumer products, including health supplements. The database is made available to the public to ensure the health and safety of individuals as consumers.

“It is an integrated bridge to connect with Dubai Municipality to check the status and record of consumer products by scanning the bar code of the product using a smartphone camera. The app will also enable the public to strengthen community monitoring to report unregistered products directly through this app,” she said.