JFDA conducted 318,988 food tests since beginning of 2020

AMMAN — A total of 318,988 food tests have been conducted by the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) since the beginning of 2020, the administration said on Sunday.

Only 1.5 per cent of the food samples failed quality tests, JFDA Director General Nizar Mheidat said. Jordanians spent an average of 38 per cent of their personal income on food, as Jordan's annual food import bill is estimated at JD2 billion, Mheidat said, citing official statistics.

He added that 4 per cent of the public's income goes to alcohol and tobacco, 6 per cent to medicine and 1 per cent to cosmetics and nutritional supplements.

In a statement cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the official highlighted the administration's efforts towards adopting science-based criteria to ensure accurate testing for local and imported food products, pointing out that the JFDA monitors some 90,000 imported food items that mainly enter the Kingdom via Aqaba and land ports.