Bahrain Mirror:  The Agriculture and Marine Resources Agency has disposed of a shipment of Australian cantaloupe fruits estimated at 8 000 cartons, implementing a decision to stop their importation as a precaution following reports by international press about an outbreak of contaminated Australian melons by Listeria bacteria.

An official statement said that the quarantine personnel managed on Sunday to confiscate 8,000 cartons loaded with Australian cantaloupe fruits upon reaching the Kingdom's ports, where they immediately took the necessary measures towards the shipment.

The Agriculture Agency has alerted all importers of vegetables and fruits, who have been granted import authorization in advance, to stop the importation until the safety of the imported product is ensured. The Agency periodically conducts a thorough survey of vegetable and fruit markets, by random sampling of various fruits and testing them in safety laboratories to guarantee that they are not contaminated.

Arabic Version