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Firms warned against fake Zam-Zam label on water bottles

RAS AL KHAIMAH — The Ras Al Khaimah Municipality has warned consumers and commercial outlets against fake labels of the brand ‘Zam-Zam’, the natural pure water from a holy well in the holy city of Makkah .

The warning followed the seizure of large quantities of bottled drinking water with fake labels of Zam-Zam water by municipal inspectors from some shops in Ras Al Khaimah.

Mubarak Ali Al Shamsi, Chairman of the RAK Municipality said that consumers and outlets have to be careful as certain manufacturers of bottled drinking water may illegally use the label of Zam-Zam in order to boost sales.

“The sale of Zam-Zam water is not allowed in shops across the country as this water is given out to pilgrims or visitors of the Holy City of Mecca free of charge. No outlet is allowed to sell Zam-Zam and it is not acceptable for companies manufacturing drinking water to use the word Zam-Zam on their labels,” he noted.

Fawaz Abdullah, head of the Food Control Section at RAK Municipality confirmed that during inspection campaigns on various commercial outlets, municipal officials confiscated huge quantities of bottled drinking water with the Zam-Zam label from a shop selling herbal medicines.

“The inspectors checked the entire shop and its stores and seized all the bottled water having the label,“ he said.

A hefty fine was also imposed on the shop for violating municipal laws. Abdullah warned of tough penalties against any outlet caught violating the law.

The authorities had banned the branding of Zam-Zam on drinking water bottles a few years ago after a local company labeled its brand Zam-Zam with the intension of boosting sales. The company also wrote on its labels that the source of the water was the holy well of Mecca.

Meanwhile, the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality revealed that it has imposed fines on nearly 80 food outlets caught flouting laws, during April.

The fines ranged from Dh200 to Dh5,000 and were imposed on owners of outlets including meat shops, restaurants, cafeterias, groceries, supermarkets, poultry shops, fruits and vegetable shops and fish markets.

Among the violations included the sale of expired and fake products, dealing in rotten products and sale of stale food by some restaurants, operating in poor hygiene conditions, poor storage facilities and others.

The inspectors also issued warnings to as many as 312 outlets caught violating hygiene laws.

The municipality has given a grace period to some of the violating outlets to clean up their premises before shutting down their businesses permanently.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com