The municipality has responded to the latest food rumour circulating on social media lately, which questions the safety of tea bags in Dubai.

Authorities on Wednesday issued a statement responding to the rumours, assuring residents that all tea bags are safe for consumption.

Eman Al Bastaki, Director of Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality, said that the rumours claimed that a material called Epichlorohydrin was used to make tea bags, which is a substance used in making pesticides.

“The laboratory tests conducted by the Municipality have proved that the tea bags are free from this material,” said Al Bastaki.

The municipality confirmed that it has tested different samples of tea bags of several brands to check their safety and affirmed that they are all compliant with global specifications, with laboratory tests proving the rumours wrong.

“For this, we have devoted a large force of observers and inspectors in all areas concerning the protection of public health in terms of waste, food or pest control,” she said.

She pointed out that all the food that enter the emirate undergo various rounds of inspections.

“The documents attached to the consignment undergo a thorough scrutiny and then random samples are taken by the Food Safety Department for lab tests on a regular basis before letting them out in the market. The food samples are subjected to microbiological, chemical, and radiological tests by the Food and Environment Laboratory Section of Dubai Central Laboratory Department,” Al Bastaki explained.

She also denied the presence of any impurities or carcinogenic substances in the food in circulation in the emirate of Dubai.

Al Bastaki said: “Before being circulated and sold to the public, the food in Dubai is subjected to routine health inspections. They have to undergo a comprehensive analysis to make sure that they are free from anything that is detrimental to the health and safety of consumers and the community in Dubai. We ensure they are free from the dangers of any illegal substances.”

“They are also tested to make sure that they are free of carcinogens in order to preserve public health and safety of citizens and residents, and all the foodstuffs adhere to international specifications in food control,” she added

source : gulfnews