The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) urged the public on Friday to stop eating the pre-packed DRIED APRICOTS supplied by the Turkish manufacturer HAZARBEY as they were found to contain two sweeteners – cyclohexyl sulfamate and saccharin – which are banned for use in this food category.
An IAM statement underlined that the local food market has been ordered to stop selling the problematic product with the production date of 01.06.2022 and expiry date of 01.09.2023, and to recall it from their consumers.
According to the statement, each kilogramme of the product with the batch number 440076595/1-51-14 contains 35.7 milligrammes of cyclohexyl sulfamate and 11.6 milligrammes of saccharin.
The bureau said in the statement that in order to ensure food safety, it would continue to follow up on the case and trace the circulation of the product in the market.
The statement pointed out that cyclohexyl sulfamate and saccharin are common sweeteners, with high sweetness, and low-calorie characteristics, a very little amount of which can achieve manufacturers’ ideal sweetness in their products.
The statement noted that based on the amount detected in the product’s test sample, it will “generally” not cause adverse health effects when consumed in normal quantities.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows a pack of HAZARBEY’s DRIED APRICOTS containing banned sweeteners.
