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Study on microbes in spices planned

SHARJAH — Sharjah Municipality will soon conduct a field study pertaining to the microbial content of various spices being used. The study will detect the spices containing harmful microbes that can cause various harmful diseases

The study is being done in cooperation with the Health Science Faculty of Sharjah University. The civic body will set a mechanism to curb the existence of microbes in the spices as they are harmful for human health.

Mohammed Omar Al Bannai, Head of the Public Health Department, said that through the study the civic body will be able to know the microbial content of various spices such as pepper, cumin and others that are heavily used by people, restaurants and hotels in the food.

“Random samples will be taken by the civic body supervisors from various groceries, cooperative societies and supermarkets. The supervisors will take the samples using sterilised tools and will deliver them to the municipality’s laboratory for analysis to determine whether these species are fit for human consumption.

Mr Al Bannai added that the civic body had also taken various strict measures in its bid to ensure that various local and imported products are safe for human health.

“Majority of food poisoning cases occur due to the improper handling of food products and not because of their being contaminated. Poor handling of food products results in microbial contamination which leads either to food poisoning or deterioration in the quality of food,” he said.

“Mr Al Bannai urged people to differentiate between the quality and safety of any product. “People should not be easily tempted by the quality of any food product — these might be well cooked but still can be absolutely unhygienic.” he noted.

The civic body will conduct regular inspection of food outlets to ensure the proper storage and handling of the species.