It has been reported that pork imports have not been banned by the United Arab Emirates; however a few supermarkets have discarded pig meat from their shelves as a precautionary measure against swine flu.

It should be noted that several countries have banned pork imports even when the World Health Organisation has specified that eating pork does not spread swine flu.

Majid al-Mansouri, secretary-general of the Environment Agency and member of a higher committee responsible for combating the flu reported, "There is no decision to ban pork meat products."

Since UAE is a Muslim country where restrictions on the sale of pork products already apply, the market for pig meat is already small.

"There was a ban on all imports of pork products as a precautionary measure to protect consumers," reported a spokesperson for the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority earlier on Thursday.

It should be noted that an emergency meeting would be held by Gulf states in the next few days to coordinate efforts to combat swine flu, which has caused jitters on Gulf Arab stock markets.