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
What will Israel do if the Nile Delta becomes submerged from climate change? Brainstorming at the Climate Change Mitigation Policy Workshop today at Ben-Gurion University. (Image courtesy of Ophir Shoham)
Miriam reports on what looks like a frozen fish scandal in Israel, and the government reacts. 
