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MoH to regulate sale of herbal products

DUBAI — The Ministry of Health (MoH) along with the General Secretariat of Municipalities will soon start monitoring the sale of food supplements that claim to have medicinal properties in order to regulate the flow of herbal and natural products into the market.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Director of the Drug Control Department in the MoH, Dr Easa Ahmed bin Jakka Al Mansoori, said: “But before this step is taken, we need to raise awareness of the legal issues concerning these products among the public. They should also know about their side effects.”

He added that Law No 20 of 1995 for Health and Natural products does not allow any such product to be sold until it is approved by the MoH.

There are over 100 such herbal products registered with the MoH he said. “More than 2,000 products such as food supplements and cosmetic products are included in the General Sale List (GSL).”

The official also said that it was hard to determine the category of certain products because slight differences in ingredients that can alter the categories under which such products fall. “For instance, if there is an increase in the concentration of some ingredients, certain products can fall under the category of medicines.”

He, however, said the municipalities played an important role in monitoring products that had been categorised as food supplements. “We cannot inspect supermarkets and shops for checking such products. We only know about irregularities after municipality officials or the public bring any such case to the MoH’s notice,” he explained.

He also said the MoH can only check if shops are selling products that are allowed to be sold as well as carry out tests to check their ingredients, dosage, labels, etc.

Regarding awareness campaigns, Al Mansoori said the MoH would soon publish booklets. “The booklets - in English and Arabic - will carry information on various types of herbal and natural products and explain the dos and don’ts,” he said.