KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: MP Dr Ali Al-Omair has slammed the Ministry of Health and Kuwait Municipality for allegedly ignoring reports on the poor supervision over the imported commodities, up to the extent of endangering public health.

Claiming some of the imported commodities are not fit for human consumption, Al-Omair pointed out Kuwait has the required technical skills and human resources to monitor the imported goods. He said the negligence of the concerned authorities has led to the sale of expired products in cooperative societies and markets.

Al-Omair revealed an inspection team from the Municipality has admitted that many traders and owners of restaurants have not shown any concern over the people’s health. He said the team has arrested those who have violated the law, including some who served expired food to their customers.
Urging the ministers of Health and Municipality to intensify their efforts to ensure food safety, Al-Omair asserted several reports had been published earlier on the confiscation of large quantities of spoilt food products; hence, the need to develop the monitoring systems of the two authorities. He added they have repeatedly asked the Ministry of Commerce to verify reports on the distribution of chickens infected with salmonella to Kuwaiti families.

Al-Omair then directed a number of questions to the two ministers to clarify a report published in Al-Qabas daily (issue number 133730) on the distribution of 17,000 pieces of spoilt chicken in the local market by the same company that supplied 65,000 kilograms of meat not fit for human consumption in January. He stated the fact that the company committed the same violation twice is a clear manifestation of the poor monitoring system of imported items in the country.

The lawmaker wants to know if the report is true. If not, he asked the Municipality to explain why it did not issue an official statement to refute the report. Is it true that the Imported Food Department has instructed the distributor of the imported chicken not to distribute the products to the local market until the release of the test results? What measures were taken when the shipment entered the country until the distribution to the market? Did the owner of the company distribute the products prior to the issuance of the test results and before obtaining approval from the Municipality? What is the name of the company and its owner? He also demanded a copy of the results of the tests done on the chickens.

Al-Omair also inquired what action has been taken against the trader, in case the report is true. Did the Municipality dump chickens infected with salmonella over the last six months? If yes, please provide a detailed report in this regard, he added.