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Ajman pulls out harmful gum from stores

AJMAN — The Ajman Municipality decided yesterday to immediately withdraw the Buddy Bottles bubblegum manufactured in Pakistan from the emirate’s markets, after the laboratory of Ras Al Khaimah’s Municipality found it harmful to health.

The RAK authorities withdrew the chewing gum, because it was found to contain dangerous chemicals. The laboratory test conducted by the RAK civic body proved that the gum contained buty1 hydroxy toluene which can affect the human body’s organs, including kidneys, liver, stomach, and glands.

Saif Salim Al Shamsi, Deputy Director of the Ajman Municipality, told Khaleej Times that since the municipality’s main priority is to protect public health, it would withdraw the product from the market first to prevent children from buying it. Then, it will investigate the case by testing samples of the gum in the laboratory.

“If the result confirms that the product jeopardises consumer health, the municipality will also prepare a report and send it to the UAE General Secretariat of Municipalities, recommending its withdrawal from all markets across the country.

He explained that the municipality decided to withdraw the product, deemed unfit for human consumption, as a precautionary measure to safeguard public health, but no circular has yet been received by the Ajman civic body from the General Secretariat to this effect.

Al Shamsi stressed that the municipality was keeping a strict control on malpractices in the food market and contained them by carrying out regular and surprise food inspection campaigns.

“Those campaigns aim at ensuring a safe food market. The elimination of the sources of unfit, harmful and low quality food is a top priority for us,” Al Shamsi said.

He added that food inspectors of the Ajman Municipality monitor the violations of food production and sale, classify these violations in categories, and set performance standards to achieve more and better inspection.

The inspection visits are repeated to food outlets to keep a close watch on any malpractice and to rectify the violations because they have become a threat to the safety of consumers.

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