Indian Maggi sales halted in Dubai

Sunday, Jun 07, 2015

Dubai: A Dubai Municipality official confirmed shops have been asked to halt sales of Maggi noodles made in India.

Officials in India have said samples of Maggi made in India tested positive for unacceptably high levels of lead.

Maggi maker Nestle has said its internal tests, as well as external lab reports, showed Maggi is safe to eat but has voluntarily recalled the product from shops in India on a temporary basis.

In India, there is an official ban on sale of locally made Maggi in some Indian states while other states continue to sell it.

In Dubai, Maggi made in Malaysia, rather than in India, is imported and distributed to local retailers, Nestle Middle East and Dubai Municipality have said, adding that the product is safe.

However, some Dubai shops directly import Maggi from India to cater to mostly Indians who prefer Maggi flavours and varieties made in India.

Following developments in India, Dubai shops have been asked to stop selling Maggi made in India, said Khalid Al Awadhi, Director, Food Control Department, Dubai Municipality .

There is no change in policy towards Maggi made in Malaysia and shops can continue selling that, he added.

Meanwhile, Nestle continues to maintain all Maggi products, regardless of their origin, are safe to eat. It said in a statement that it “reassures consumers in the Middle East that all Maggi products sold are safe and compliant with the highest quality standards.

“We are continuously engaging with authorities in our region and we thank them for their active collaboration.

“Quality and food safety are our top priority and we perform regular tests on our raw material and finished products to ensure food safety and full compliance”.

Dhananjay Datar, managing director of retail chain Al Adil Trading, said the company has destroyed its stock of Maggi made in India. He added that following a query on the status of Maggi made in India, there was an instruction from the municipality on Friday to stop sales of the product.

Hypermarket chain Lulu Middle East earlier said the Maggi noodles sold in their shops are not from India.

“All the Maggi noodles sold here in our shops are from Nestle Middle East and sourced from Malaysia. We don’t import from any other country,” V. Nandakumar, chief communications officer at Lulu Group, had said.

Citation - Taken from ZAWYA : https://goo.gl/Qgu8FP

ARE YOU LOSING SLEEP OVER YOUR SMARTPHONE?

START YOUR BUSINESS - VENTURE ART

Friday, May 29, 2015

Dubai: While convenient, keeping your mobile phone at arm’s length when one is sleeping has proven to affect quality of sleep, and even health.

Research conducted by several universities and doctors has shown that radiation emitted from mobile phones, especially 3G and 4G-enabled smart phones, delays and disrupts sleep.

Dr Saeed Taghizadeh, specialist neurologist at Prime Hospital, pointed out that electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones also interferes with the body’s ability to heal.

He referred to research led by by Professor Bengt Arnetz, a Swedish professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which found that using a handset right before bed prolongs the amount of time it takes for people to reach a deep state of sleep.

“Anything that disrupts the quality of our sleep impacts our attentiveness and irritability in the short and long term.”

While productive sleep helps our bodies recover form the stresses of the day, the affects of being exposed to cell phone radiation through out the night is more likely to be evident in children and adolescents.

Dr Taghizadeh explained that sleeping beside a phone is especially bad for children and teenagers who typically need more sleep than adults.

“It can cause mood and personality changes such as [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] ADHD-like symptoms and depression.”

Dr Fatima Nazir, general practitioner at Gardens Speciality Clinic, told Gulf News that experts are concerned about the effects of the radiation, as some research suggests that sleeping with your mobile by your bedside can cause dizziness and headaches, and can even trigger insomnia and other sleeping disorders.

“At the very least it makes us hyper vigilant so our sleep is more likely to be disturbed and we don’t get enough of the restorative sleep we need,” said Dr Nazir.

What happens when you sleep?

The hormone cortisol that signals us to wake up, and the hormone melatonin, which makes us sleepy are controlled by the light-sensitive cells in the brain.

“Light stimulates cells in the retina, the area at the back of the eye that transmits messages to the brain, and the light-sensitive cells inform the body what time it is,” explained Dr Fatima. When sleeping beside a mobile phone or tablet, the blue light emitted from the device has a stimulating effect. The cells in the retina are most sensitive to blue light because of a pigment called melanopsin, which is why reading on a phone or a tablet before bed is more likely to keep a person awake than reading a book using a bedside light.

“For this reason, experts advise a ban on screen time two to three hours before bed,” said Dr Fatima.

With smart phones replacing most traditional devices such as alarm clocks and flash lights, sleeping with your phone in the next room can be a big inconvenience.

However, it can be the solution for a good night’s sleep.

Citation - Taken from ZAWYA : https://goo.gl/NLJrcO