Egyptian Minister of Health Ismael Sallam has issued a resolution banning the importation of the peanut butter manufactured in Britain, based on reports that it contains carcinogenic ingredients, according to the daily Al Ahram.
Certain ingredients in the peanut butter, according to the ministry, contain carcinogens exceeding the international permissible limits set for the safety of foodstuffs. The high content of such substances in peanut butter has been claimed to cause liver cancer.
The head of the import and export-monitoring department in Alexandria, Ali Bahgat, said that the necessary precautionary measures had been taken to prohibit the import of any consignment of peanut butter from Britain.
“This decision has been taken on the basis of the reports released by the Egyptian commercial office in Saudi Arabia and its follow-up on the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Commerce decision to temporarily halt the importation of peanut butter from Britain,” added Bahgat.
Bahgat said a study by the British food safety commission had revealed a high content of potentially dangerous chemical substances in the peanut butter manufactured in Britain.
The British study was carried out on 20 different types of peanut butter sold in the British market, and revealed that one out of four of these products contained hazardous substances in quantities higher than the set standards - Albawaba.com
