UAE withdraws brand of mouthwash from hospitals and pharmacies

A popular antiseptic mouthwash has been found to contain harmful impurities, prompting its immediate withdrawal from the UAE.

Zordyl germicidal mouthwash is ordinarily stocked in hospitals and pharmacies but once testing confirmed the product was contaminated with bacteria, health officials ordered it not be sold.

It is generally used to treat types of gum inflammation.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention's decision to withdraw the product comes after the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) withdrew the product too.

The ministry has called on directors of medical districts, government and private hospitals, doctors, pharmacists and assistant pharmacists to remove Zordyl Mouthwash, which is manufactured by Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, Julphar, from their shelves.

Anyone suffering from any side effects caused by using Zordyl should contact the Ministry by email at pv@moh.gov.ae, through an electronic reporting system on the Ministry's website, or by using the smart application UAE RADR.

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The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.