‘Suspected Mars product to be recalled from Oman market’

Muscat: Random samples of Mars chocolates have been collected and subjected to laboratory tests “to ensure that the products contain no harmful substance”, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Sami bin Salim Al Sahib, acting director general of Standards and Metrology at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement that the random sampling was done as a precautionary measure to ensure that Omani markets contain no such harmful products, despite the fact that the Sultanate is not on the list of the 55 countries, which recalled the products of Mars Chocolate Company because of the possibility of the existence of plastic bits in it.
He further explained that the affected products, according to the manufacturer are those that expire in June 2016 and January 2017 and that the Sultanate was not among the list of importing countries for those shipments.
Also read: Mars, Snickers bars recalled in Oman
Stressing that all suspected Mars products would be recalled from the market, he said that the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Muscat Municipality, Dhofar Municipality and the Public Authority for Consumer Protection were working in tandem to intensify control over the markets during this period to make sure that no harmful chocolate products exist in the Omani markets, which expire in June 2016 and January 2017.
He added that the supplier of Mars products in Oman had been requested to recall the products from the company’s outlets in the Sultanate and not to supply new products until prior approval from the Directorate General for Standards and Metrology.
The directorate in coordination with other regulatory authorities would intensify the monitoring of imports to the Sultanate from the countries included in the list of 55 countries mentioned by the Mars chocolate company.