Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has ordered the recall of the Turkish tahina products with the brand name Gesas from all the outlets in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the wake of reports from around the world that the product was contaminated with salmonella.
Mohamed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director of Communication and Community Service at ADFCA, said the Authority had intensified monitoring activities at the border points to check if the contaminated product was among the food items that entered the emirate. "ADFCA received intimation from the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) about the salmonella contamination of tahina products and tahina confectionaries with pistachio, cocoa and vanilla.
Al Raissi pointed out that soon after the INFOSAN alert, ADFCA pressed its officials into service to withdraw the suspected products from across the market to prevent its circulation. "All the products resembling the ones that are suspected have also been withdrawn from the markets. Samples of all these have been sent for laboratory tests," he added.
In the same context, Al Rayssi also stressed that the outlets in Abu Dhabi did not have the organic berry mix with Turkish pomegranate seeds which reportedly caused Hepatitis A infection in many people who consumed it in the US. Al Rayssi confirmed the said product was not at all found in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
"Our risk-based inspection system is fully capable of making sure no product that poses a health risk enters the markets in the emirate. All the products that are even slightly risky are subjected to the most stringent examinations and laboratory tests. We receive alerts on and follow up consistently all the food-related developments across the world. We have intensified our monitoring operations substantially in view of the coming summer months and the holy month of Ramadan," Al Rayssi reiterated.
