2024-04-13 20:03:24
Abu Dhabi: Salam Abu Shehab
A member of the Federal National Council asked regarding the reasons for the continued sale of hydrogenated oil in the markets to this day, despite the previous indication by the relevant minister that suppliers and manufacturers will gradually be notified that the country will be free of these oils by the end of 2023.
Walid Ali bin Falah Al Mansouri, a member of the Council, said in a previous session of the Council during the discussion of the topic “Government Policy on Food Safety”: “I will first address the issue of preventing the use of hydrogenated oils in manufactured foodstuffs, as there is a technical regulation in an international standard that was adopted at the Gulf level, and it has become a standard.” Mandatory national law within the UAE, and the regulatory authorities must monitor the entry of this commodity into the country. A parliamentary question was asked in the seventeenth legislative term regarding it, and the minister indicated at the time that suppliers and manufacturers would gradually be notified of the country’s vacancy by the end of 2023.
Al-Mansouri added: This oil is basically natural oil that is injected with hydrogen gas and becomes a solid or semi-solid substance, and partially hydrogenated oil, or sometimes they call it artificially transformed oil, so why is hydrogenated oil still sold in the country’s markets today? What measures has the Food Safety Committee taken to prevent such oil from being circulated in the markets, and when will the country announce that it is free of this hydrogenated oil?
He also touched on the issue of genetically modified materials, saying that today we have a federal law that regulates this issue in the country, which is the Biosafety Law of Genetically Modified Organisms and Their Products. One of its articles stipulates: “The provisions of this law apply to the import, export, transit, circulation, development, manufacture, production, and transportation of modified organisms.” Genetically modified organisms or their products, and other products containing or compounded with a percentage of the genetically modified component equal to or greater than 0.9. Products containing a genetically modified component with a percentage of less than 0.9 are excluded from the application of this law, and there are products on the market in which the percentage of the genetically modified component exceeds the mentioned percentages. These percentages are supposed to be mentioned on the food label. What are the Ministry’s procedures for dealing with this issue?
I propose to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to implement a system called the ICCP system, which is a system for examining products before they are shipped to the country, and is carried out by specialized companies to approve products and grant certificates that they are free from harm.
Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, explained: Regarding hydrogenated oils and their harm to public health, the Ministry worked through the National Food Safety Committee in the past period to discuss the harmful effects of consuming hydrogenated oils, and the committee approved a ban on the use of hydrogenated oils in food products, and it was decided to Updating the specification related to hydrogenated oils, adding a partial ban on these oils. These specifications are issued through the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology within the Steering Committee for Standard Specifications, through which national specifications are issued that are approved through various technical committees, and in this case represented by the Food Safety Committee. Pointing out that the Ministry is working to implement and follow up on the application of this decision through the regulatory authorities, of course, like any new standard, and space is left for this standard for all parties, whether manufacturing or importing companies, to amend conditions, and following that it falls within the scope of application and penalties in the event of a violation. National standard.
She explained with regard to the second part of the question, which relates to the federal law regarding biosafety and genetically modified organisms, the Ministry is working to coordinate with the relevant authorities to ensure the implementation of the law that was issued in 2020, to provide information to the consumer to ensure transparency and provide all information to consumers.
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