A federal public health law is being drafted by five Government authorities in a bid to help prevent residents from becoming ill or even dying from food allergies.
The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and Water, Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and Dubai Health Authority (DHA) want to introduce checks on food labels.
According to Dr Aizeldin El Gak, the acting director of public health at DHA, the law "will be approved by the end of the year, after which more details will be added to clearly define roles of various bodies and action will be taken to further reduce food allergy cases".
The introduction of the law will be welcomed by thousands of residents - and in particular the parents of four-year-old William Whitcher who, on his first birthday, almost died from eating a peanut butter sandwich.
Just seconds after biting into the sandwich his eyes became red and swollen, he began vomiting and his voice started changing. His parents did not realise it immediately, but their son was choking from an allergic reaction.
Rachel and Ashley Whitcher now know not to allow their son to eat peanuts. But when they shop for food, they cannot be certain if products contain traces of peanuts - despite regulations that require goods to have proper warning labels about any allergens they might contain.
Saeed Jasim Mohamed, the acting director of communications and community service at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), said under 2007 labelling guidelines all substances and ingredients that could cause an allergic reaction must be listed on the packaging.
But Mrs Whitcher, a Briton who lives in Abu Dhabi, said this regulation was not often enforced. "There is nothing here to protect against cross-contamination, so shopping can be a nightmare," she said.
At her local bakery, Mrs Whitcher has found Arabic flatbread on display next to a cake covered with peanuts, and sesame seeds in the bottom of a packet of non-sesame rolls.
"You need to know the product very well before you buy it, otherwise you could have a problem," said Sanjida Ahmed, an allergy researcher at Eastern Biotic & Life Sciences's Dubai laboratory. "Even traces of nuts could be lethal."
Basheer Hassan Yousef, a food safety expert at Dubai Municipality, said major allergens - including peanuts, walnuts, soy, gluten, shellfish, fish, egg, milk and sulphite - must be listed in the ingredients on food packaging. If his team finds an unlabelled product that contains any of these "we will take action accordingly", he said.
Mr Whitcher said proper enforcement would be a great help for people with severe allergies. "The packages on food products show the list of ingredients but it doesn't say, for example, if the food has been manufactured in the same factory that makes something with nuts."
Dr Michael Loubser, an allergy specialist who sees about 10 patients a week at his Infinity Polyclinic in Dubai, says the most common allergens for Middle Eastern and Asian children are chickpeas and sesame. "In the UAE, because it is so multicultural, we have a little bit of everything, which is why labelling is critically important," he said. "Chickpea and sesame allergies are just as life-threatening as peanuts."
The most severe allergic reactions can result in anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction which can cause death within minutes and requires immediate treatment with an epinephrine (adrenaline) injection. Sufferers must keep an injection - in the shape of an autoinjector often known by the trademark EpiPen - with them at all times, so they can immediately be treated if they accidentally eat something that triggers a reaction. Autoinjectors, though, are only available in a few public hospitals.
"The local government hospitals have them in stock sometimes, but the private hospitals don't have a good supply and sometimes the ones we can find have already expired," said Mr Whitcher.
Dr Loubser said it was "absolutely ludicrous" that there should be any shortage of autoinjectors. Making them available at local pharmacies, on prescription, would save lives.
"The government has restricted access to the EpiPen, but it's not habit forming or dangerous in any way, so it should be much more easily available," he said.
molson@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Maey El Shoush
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
