Commodities being checked by MoH, Municipality
KUWAIT CITY: Very few people in Kuwait trust Chinese foodstuff and a majority of our customers prefer food products imported from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, says General Manager of Lulu Hypermarket Abdul Khader. "Although Lulu Hypermarket's branches in other GCC states have reduced their stock of Chinese food products following complaints from customers, we have not received any complaint until now," he adds. Khader's comments follows international concerns on the safety of Chinese food exports after the discovery of poison-tainted toothpastes and pet food, which is suspected to be behind the death of thousands of cats and dogs all over the world. China is considered the top violator of US food safety standards and last month alone US authorities rejected 257 shipments of food products from China.Officials of a majority of the retail stores in Kuwait told the Arab Times they have not received any complaint from their customers on foodstuff imported from China. However, they hastened to add "the number of Chinese food products in Kuwait as they are very limited as they are not among the favorites of our customers."
Brand
Indicating the only Chinese brand on the shelves of Lulu Hypermarket is "Maling," Abdul Khader said "Chinese foodstuffs were never preferred by consumers in Kuwait even before the controversy over the safety of pet food erupted." None of our fresh food products such as meat, chicken and eggs come from China and all the Chinese foodstuff we have in our store are canned food and grains, he added. "All our commodities are tested and licensed by the Ministries of Health, and Trade besides Kuwait Municipality to ensure they are safe for consumption," he said. "We doubt any product sold by us -- including Chinese goods -- will lead to cases of poisoning." Manager of Purchase Department at City Centre Abdul Rahman Harris said "in food products we import only canned and fresh vegetables from China. Chinese foodstuffs have never been the number one choice of the people of GCC countries." He also said "although the branches of City Centre in other countries have very few Chinese food products, in electronics and clothes Chinese goods top the list of favourites."
Stressing City Centre has not received any complaint until now about the safety of Chinese food products, Abdula Rahman said "if we get any adverse reaction on any of our products, we will certainly remove it from our shelves until further notice." Preferring to remain anonymous, an administrative employee of Sultan Centre, Shuwaikh said "the only food item imported by us from China is fresh meat. Like all other food products, meat brought from China is tested by the Health Ministry and Kuwait Municipality before being sold." In its Sunday edition, The Washington Post said "the US Food and Drug Administration last month rejected over 1,000 shipments of tainted dietary supplements, toxic cosmetics, and counterfeit medicines from China." Meanwhile, The Tribune reported "a large amount of Chinese shipment rejected every month includes fish and other seafood."
By Dahlia Kholaif
© Arab Times 2007
