Say No To Chocolate-Filled Syringes

June 29, 2012

Dubai Municipality's Food Control Department was forced to issue a warning when rumors about chocolate-filled medical syringes started circulating in the United Arab Emirates.

Photos of these syringes filled with a chocolate spread by Nutella first started surfacing on social media sites, and some concerns were forwarded to the Dubai Municipality hotline.

Khalid Sherif, Director of Food Control Department, said: "The Ministry of Health confirmed that the medical needles are not clean or sanitized and might be used in hospitals to take blood or inject medicine," He also added: "We strongly advise the public to purchase food products from authorized establishments only as they get approval for all food items, apart from the periodical check up by the civic body."

However, Nutella is denying that they are the ones responsible for the creation of such product. Shaima al-Tenaiji, principal food studies and surveys officer at the food control department of Dubai Municipality, claims that they are sure that such product has never been seen in Dubai shelves. They believe that it is being passed on from one person to another.

The warning has been issued given that the way the medical syringes were handled or produced is yet to be known. They’re not even sure if it's clean. Tenajiji said: "This is a major health risk; should any of those needles accidentally prick the person packaging them it could lead to the spread of infectious diseases as serious as HIV."

Meanwhile, Arabian Oasis, which is the regional distributor for Nutella, said that they were taken aback when they found out about such a dangerous product. They're also working on finding who's behind its creation and distribution. They are worrying that all of this might take a blow on their image, especially since Nutella is one of their bestsellers.

Joanna Maligaya
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