100kg banned substances seized

100kg banned substances seized Olivia Olarte-Ulherr (olivia@khaleejtimes.com) / 21 May 2013 More than 100 kilograms of prohibited substances, such as sexual stimulants and weight loss medicines, were seized by the Abu Dhabi Municipality during an inspection of an exhibition at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. The spot check of the Arab Market Exhibition earlier this month was carried out in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec). The inspection revealed about 727 unregistered products. The items seized included personal care products such as hair oil and cosmetics; sexual stimulants; weight loss medicines; herbal blends and other prohibited substances of unknown origin. The Arab Market is a popular consumer goods fair offering many traditional merchandise that include garments, abayas, silks, handicrafts, Arabic food items and herbal products. Municipality Public Health director Khalifa Al Rumaithi said the inspection was aimed at “verifying compliance with the public health and cleanliness stipulations designated for exhibitions, and whether (exhibitors) conform to the specifications and standards set for consumer goods.” It is also to prevent “the selling of outlawed (products) which are incompatible with the health standards and specifications in place, and (ensure) that each product has a label showing the country of origin, production date and ingredients in Arabic or English,” he said. The municipality regularly conducts spot checks across the emirate in a crackdown against substances that pose health risks to the community. In February this year, the municipality confiscated 125 kilograms of ‘fake’ and unregistered herbal products being sold as sexual stimulants and weight loss treatment. It also seized and incinerated over 500 kilograms of tobacco-based banned drug, neswar, from an unlicensed processing plant in Mussafah. Al Rumaithi called on residents to refrain from buying items without labels or of unknown origin, as this could trigger skin diseases and other ailments when used for a long time.   Taylor Scott International