Abu Dhabi: The UAE has tightened controls on imports of frozen strawberries from Egypt that may be linked to a US health scare that saw 119 people falling ill from the hepatitis A virus, the government said on Saturday.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Saturday said it had instructed food control authorities in each of the seven emirates “to tighten control procedures on frozen strawberries imported from Egypt in order to avoid the entry of any contaminated products that pose a risk to the consumer in the country”.
An official statement issued on Friday by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that 119 people with hepatitis An illness had been reported from eight US states. Several US government agencies plan to work together to investigate the outbreak.
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver which is usually spread by consumption of contaminated food or drinks. It is rarely fatal.
FoodWorld 