Authorities in Qatar have withdrawn two brands of oatmeal from supermarket shelves here. The food monitoring body of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has banned the two brands as they do not comply with local food safety standards. “The oatmeal from two companies — Lucky Charm and General Mills — was found to have gelatin derived from pig,” Dr Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani, Director of Public Health, Supreme Council for Health, said. “Gelatin available in the local market is mainly derived from vegetables and beef. The oatmeal of the two companies was found to have pig content, which is not permissible here,” he told The Peninsula. The food safety section bans any food product which does not meet Qatar standards. The monitoring body has also refused to accept applications for marketing fruit products like juices which contain aspartame or E-951. Aspartame is an artificial sweetner which has been a subject of controversy since its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1974. The committee will also closely scrutinise expiry dates of various products. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=August2009&file=Local_News200908242349.xml

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