Dubai: The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Monday urged residents not to consume Australian rock melons and ordered their recall from UAE markets.
This recall is in line with Ministerial Decree No 433 for 2017 on Rapid Alert System for Food.
Majd Al Herbawi, food safety director at the ministry, said: “The decision comes in the wake of what has been recently circulated in international newspapers regarding the listeria-contaminated Australian rock melons, which resulted in three casualties so far. The ministry has been closely following the updates of the outbreak.
“The decision underscores the ministry’s commitment to protecting food safety and safeguarding consumers from adulterated and misbranded foods, in coordination with relevant authorities in the UAE.”
Al Herbawi said the ministry, along with Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and municipal authorities in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, is monitoring markets.
“The ministry has also directed food safety regulatory authorities at UAE entry points to deny the entry of rock melon shipments coming from Australia unless they are declared contamination free,” she added.
The ministry urged residents to return these rock melons to the shop they bought it from, or properly discard them.
