Emirates Co-operative Society (ECS), a Dubai supermarket chain, has become the first co-operative to get exclusive rights in GCC to import natural and healthy food products including spring water and sugar-free Basmati rice.

With this, ECS has become a major global distribution company, said Ali Mohammed Balrahif, chairman of the ECS board of directors.

The move comes in line with the directions of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance & Industry and Chairman of Dubai Municipality to provide healthy food options to the people of the UAE, he added.

The retail chain said it will import the following healthy products through its export division, ECS General Trading:

*Erikli Water - A natural spring water from Turkey which has a very low sodium content (1.4 per cent) compared to others.

"Erikli has zero per cent chlorine as it undergoes ozone treatment. Any water that goes through the ozone treatment process has greater disinfection effectiveness against bacteria and viruses compared to chlorination," explained Balrahif.

*Smart Chips - This particular brand of corn chips are free of preservatives, its roasted and not fried in oil and its 100 per cent free of cholesterol and the proposition of fat is only 7gm.

"We understand that there is a huge consumption of chips among young our population, our objective is to provide them with a healthier option," the ECS official remarked.

Balrahif said, "Considering a high percentage of the GCC population suffers from diabetics and high blood pressure, we at ECS have launched the Lal Mahal Basmati Rice brand that is free of sugar."

“Other than UAE, in the near future our focus as a major distribution company is to export the above products and their health benefits to all parts of the GCC” he said.-TradeArabia News Service