When His Majesty King Abdullah II visits national factories in Al-Qastal and affirms the state’s support for domestic products and the strengthening of reliance on them, the royal message is clear: the national economy can only be built on a strong industrial base, a reliable local product, and mutual trust between citizens and what is offered to them. However, this message—despite its significance—requires a strict regulatory framework to protect it from any shortcomings that could undermine its objectives.
اضافة اعلان
In this context, the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization and the Jordan Food and Drug Administration emerge as the two most critical institutions directly responsible for food and drug safety, and consequently for the health, lives, and trust of citizens in the national product. The success of local industry is not measured solely by production volume or the number of factories, but by strict adherence to specifications and standards, and by effective oversight that prevents any unsafe product from reaching the market.
Painful incidents have brought this issue back to the forefront, such as the “Shamousa” heater case, followed by incidents involving alcoholic beverages that claimed the lives of citizens. These were not merely isolated mistakes; they were alarm bells that demand serious reflection—especially since the products in question circulated in the local market without violations being detected in a timely manner.
The more alarming question that arises today is: what if such a failure had involved a widely and daily consumed product, such as water, juices, or similar items? We would not then be speaking of limited casualties, but of a national health disaster affecting thousands of families, overwhelming the healthcare system, and deeply eroding public trust.
What further heightens the risk is that these cases involved locally manufactured products, meaning the harm extended beyond public health to damage the national economy itself. Supporting domestic products, as His Majesty emphasizes during his field visits, cannot be separated from ensuring their quality and safety. Any regulatory failure does not only harm a specific institution or factory; it harms the very concept of the “national product” as a whole.
Therefore, protecting the royal message that supports local industry requires the government to raise the level of proactive oversight, enhance inspection and monitoring tools, and tighten accountability. This should not be perceived as targeting national factories; on the contrary, it is a means of protecting them—their reputation and their sustainability.
National products are not safeguarded by slogans, but by strict standards and fair oversight that makes no distinction between large and small entities and does not allow mistakes to be repeated. What has happened must remain an unforgettable lesson, because any complacency in this area could undermine both royal and governmental efforts, turning support into a burden and trust into doubt.
My final message to the government is clear: just as we support and take pride in national industry, we must raise—not lower—the سقف of oversight over it. Citizen safety is paramount, and it is the true path to consolidating trust in domestic products, transforming them from a patriotic choice into a safe and sustainable one.
