Nestle coffee products banned in Saudi Arabia for “glass shard scare”
Nestle has the dubious honor of being one of the most boycotted companies on the planet. Glass in some jars of instant coffee led to a recent Saudi Arabian ban on many of the company’s products.
Nestle’s aggressive and deceptive marketing of artificial baby milk in developing countries was a major impetus to the implementation of the World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing Breast-Milk Subsitutes in 1981. But as recently as a few months ago, Nestle raised ire on parenting blogs when it invited “mommy-bloggers” to a conference at their corporate headquarters to help promote its products. My own family has avoided buying Nestle and Osem products for many years.
Greenpeace has also announced a boycott of Nestle products. A major purchaser of palm oil, Nestle is charged with contributing to the destruction of rainforests in Indonesia. Greenpeace activists protested at the Nestle-Osem headquarters in Shoham, Israel.
Now Saudi Arabia has joined the fray. According to Arabian Business, consumers found shards of glass in jars of instant coffee.
The warning, released on Saturday, urged people not to use 100 gram jars of Alta Rica, Alta Rica Decaff, Cap Colombie, Suraya and Espresso as they could have been damaged during shipment.
Nestle, the makers of Nescafe, recalled the affected coffee brands as a precautionary measure on Thursday, Arab News reports.
“The quality and safety of our products is a non-negotiable priority for our company. We sincerely apologise to our consumers and customers for any inconvenience due to the recall,” the company said in a statement made in Malaysia.
This is a a ban, not a boycott, and Nestle can resolve it quickly. But charges about unethical marketing of baby milk have refused to go away for decades. As recently as 2007, Nestle was violating the WHO Code and paying Saudi Arabian hospitals to stock free samples of Nan brand formulas for newborns. As for the palm oil, we’ll be watching Nestle’s actions on this critical issue.
Source: Arabian Business Saudi Bans Some Nescafe Products After Recall
Photo credit: Nate Steiner
More on Nestle and baby formula:
Why Baby’s First Gift Shouldn’t Be Formula from the Hospital
Ten Common Misconceptions about Breastfeeding Your Baby
Greenpeace Mediterranean Demands that Nestle-Osem Give the Orangutans and Rainforests a Break
Make Your Own “Convenience Foods” for Your Baby
Author: Hannah Katsman
Hannah learned environmentalism from her mother, a conservationist before it was in style. Once a burglar tried to enter their home in Cincinnati after noticing the darkened windows (covered with blankets for insulation) and the snow-covered car in the driveway. Mom always set the thermostat for 62 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) — 3 degrees lower than recommended by President Nixon — because “the thermostat is in the dining room, but the stove’s pilot light keeps the kitchen warmer.” Her mother would still have preferred today’s gas-saving pilotless stoves. Hannah studied English in college and education in graduate school, and arrived in Petach Tikva in 1990 with her husband and oldest child. Her mother died suddenly six weeks after Hannah arrived and six weeks before the first Gulf War, and Hannah stayed anyway. She has taught English but her passion is parental education and support, especially breastfeeding. She recently began a new blog about energy- and time-efficient meal preparation called CookingManager.Com. You can find her thoughts on parenting, breastfeeding, Israeli living and women in Judaism at A Mother in Israel. Hannah can be reached at hannahk (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
