In an ongoing public feud, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) now says that only the Ministry of Health can decide on the benefit of baby milk formula containing palm olein oil, which some have argued can cause osteoporosis. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Mehazi, SFDA Vice President for Food Affairs, was reported as saying Monday that the SFDA was responsible only for the safety of the powdered baby milk, while the Ministry of Health was responsible for its nutritional aspects. “It should be understood that the ministry's doctors decide what is beneficial for [the diet] of children,” he was quoted as saying in a section of the Arabic press. He said there is currently a debate between nutritionists about the safety of palm olein oil. According to the website, pediatrics.about.com, palm olein oil is used as a source of fat in some baby milk powder products. Some studies suggest that it lowers the absorption of calcium and bone mineralization, but this is disputed by baby milk powder producers using this ingredient, the website stated. Al-Mehazi said some have argued that palm olein oil is used as a cheaper substitute for more expensive animal ingredients. He stressed that the authority has formed a high-level committee including SFDA specialists, Ministry of Health officials and senior pediatricians to look into these issues, including replacing plant components with animal ingredients. He said the SFDA's laboratories check for toxic elements in all baby milk power products coming into Saudi Arabia. He said the authority has a team of five specialists tasked only with monitoring and issuing warnings about medicines and food products from around the globe. SFDA recently banned baby milk powder imported from a Belgium milk company after it was warned by the European authorities of bacteria in the product. SFDA advised consumers to destroy the product. Meanwhile, the price of powdered baby milk has risen by 15 percent despite the government having increased its subsidy from SR2 to SR12 a kilogram. The country consumes about 75 million cans of powdered baby milk annually. The Arabic media reported that consumers, who are angry about the increase, say that powdered baby milk originating in Europe should be cheaper because of the European financial crisis which has badly affected the exchange rate of the euro against the dollar.
