Madina: Three government ministries have launched a task team to crack down on factories selling by-products of dates mixed with palm tree leaves and textures, normally used for animal feed, to shoppers across the country. The crisis surfaced a few months ago when some officials in charge of the dates market in the Kingdom raised the issue. The officials found that the by-products made of the best of local dates, including date paste, date biscuits, known as Mamoul, were mixed with date palm tree textures and leaves used for animal feed. Fahd Al-Hudhaili, Acting Director General for Anti-Commercial Fraud at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said a joint committee, representing the ministries of Commerce and Industry, Agriculture and Municipal and Rural Affairs have been tasked with the crackdown. He vowed that factories found to have engaged in this illegal practice will face the maximum penalty. The committee was currently working with government agencies to expose these factories, he said. Informed sources said the Ministry of Commerce is making contact with Saudi Customs to get precise statistics on the volume of date byproduct imported into the Kingdom. With this measure, the ministry's inspectors will be able to count stored quantities, and ensure that these are not sold on the local market. The National Agricultural Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has also called on the ministry to tighten its control of the animal fodder. Al-Hudhaili said Abdullah Zainal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Dr. Fahd Bin Abdul Rahman Balghunaim, the Minister of Agriculture, had set up the committee to carry out the inspections at factories across the Kingdom.
