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Issue 00526 |
July 12 - 18, 2008 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Local News |
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Shoprite supports ‘live and let live’ adage By Arusha Times Correspondent Officials of Shoprite, a South African supermarket chain, in Arusha have denied selling a chemical that is hazardous to birds. They have also insisted that the chain, spread across Africa and other parts of the world, was mainly dealing with sale of foodstuffs and beverages and not veterinary drugs. The company says it does not sell chemicals and drugs for human treatment. The only veterinary drug on sale at its shelves are tablets for dogs which the official did not specify. "We are not aware of diclofenac said to be selling in our shops. We are selling foodstuffs and multi-vitamins, not drugs or chemicals," Abdillahi Issa, the Arusha branch manager said last week. He said he was shocked by the reports of his firm selling the chemical which experts say causes kidney failure to vultures, listed globally among the endangered birds. Mr. Issa added that the only veterinary chemical on sale at its outlets in Tanzania are tablets used to treat dogs and that they have not dealt with diclofenac, a drug he says is used to treat pains among humans. He explained that Shoprite, which has only one outlet in Arusha and four others in Dar es Salaam, sold foodstuffs and a wide range of beverages including beer, wine, soft and hard drinks. He added that the foodstuffs and beverages have to be vetted and inspected by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) to ensure their safety for human consumption. Leonard Scheeres, the Loss Control Manager with Shoprite in Arusha said his firm has no licence to sell the said chemical but confirmed that it was allowed to sell some pain killing drugs for humans such as aspirin and others. He said his supermarket chain was aware of the strict health regulations for food stuffs not only for products they sell in Tanzania but elsewhere in the world. However, he promised to investigate the claims. The official hinted that some people may have confused Shoprite and other companies selling agro-chemicals at the TFA Shopping Complex along Dodoma road where Shoprite has its only outlet in Arusha. Experts with the world-famous Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International were recently quoted by scientific publications warning that diclofenac was responsible for the near extinction of vultures in India. They said the sale of the "hazardous" chemical was illegal in many parts of the world because it has claimed over 99 per cent of the critically-endangered white-rumped vultures in the Asian country. Some media reports suggested that more than 50 packets of the chemical had already been sold out from Shoprite veterinary outlet in Arusha despite the world-wide ban. The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania has also reportedly come out against the sale of diclofenac whose use has also been restricted in neighbouring Kenya.
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