Tainted coffee powder is banned

Umm al Qaiwain // Authorities have ordered a contaminated coffee powder that caused diarrhoea and vomiting be removed from stores. The product, called Arabic Coffee, was being sold illegally in the UAE. It was contaminated with coliform bacteria, officials said yesterday. Municipal authorities said it confiscated 110 bags of the coffee powder from shops in Umm al Qaiwain following complaints from people who had recently purchased it.

The Ministry of Environment and Water, the governing body for food safety in the country, ordered that the coffee be banned across the country, municipal authorities added. Ali Ghanem, head of the municipality's health department, said the coffee was manufactured in Saudi Arabia, and that it was being sold illegally since it had never been licensed. "It is possible that the product is produced under unsanitary conditions or that the process of packaging is not good," said Mr Ghanem.

"All our laboratory tests revealed the presence of bacteria." He warned shop owners not to stock the product in their shops or they could face very hefty fines. ykakande@thenational.ae