BEIRUT: Several of Lebanon’s leading food establishments are scrambling to handle the fallout following another news conference by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour, in which he named more restaurants and markets that do not meet the national health standards. The country has witnessed confusion and outrage since Tuesday, when Abu Faour began announcing the results of a monthlong investigation into over 1,000 restaurants and supermarkets carried out by the Health Ministry.
The list of food establishments included household names like Roadster, TSC Mega, Spinneys and Monoprix. More names are expected to be released in the coming days.
Abu Faour’s decision to announce the results of the laboratory tests live on television, as opposed to notifying them in question directly, has drawn criticism from some quarters.
Christine Khoury, head of marketing at supermarket TSC Mega, said her company was caught off guard by Abu Faour’s announcement.
“We were all shocked,” Khoury said. “I don’t know why they are doing this now and why is this happening ... We’ve been operating for six years. We’ve never had any issue of anybody being poisoned.”
She said TSC Mega bought its meat from a variety of government-certified sources, and called into question the certification process.
According to Khoury, health checks by the government are routine, but this is the first time the ministry has gone directly to the media with the results.
Several Cabinet members also took issue with the manner in which Abu Faour released the information. Economy Minister Alain Hakim called the Health Minister’s methods ‘terrorizing.’
Head of the Lebanese Franchise Association Charles Arbid expressed outrage during a news conference.
“We want to know why the minister failed to send a warning to the violating restaurants and supermarkets before accusing them of poisoning the Lebanese,” he said. “If these allegations were true, then half of the citizens would be dead and the remaining in hospitals.”
Abu Faour hit back at his critics before announcing the establishments on the second list Thursday morning, stating that he would not submit to intimidation.
“We expected a vengeful reaction over our spoiled food battle,” he told reporters. “[But] the campaign is ongoing ... we will not stop.”
The head of Beirut Chambers of Commerce Mohammed Choucair also criticized the way in which Abu Faour had announced the list, saying that a smear campaign against franchises could put hundreds of jobs at risk.
“Why didn’t anyone say anything about these issues 15 years ago?” he said. “I don’t want to deny that these restaurants have failed to meet the criteria, but the minister could have done it in a more tactful way, and without damaging the reputation of these establishments.”
A source at Monoprix’s Head Office, who could not give his name as he was not permitted to speak with the media, said that the French retail chain was startled by the revelations.
“We were surprised, just like everyone else,” the source said. “[Monoprix] is preparing a response ... The CEO will issue a formal press statement with all the details.”
The source commended the Health Ministry for announcing the results to the public. “It’s the public’s right,” he said.
Abu Faour said the chicken escalope at Monoprix’s Jnah branch was “not up to standards.”
According to the source, Monoprix receives its chicken from a number of places that are all government certified, and they expect it to be sanitary when it arrives.
“We have a few different places that we get our chicken from,” the source said. “Monoprix cannot test 1,000 or 2,000 kg of chicken every day. We expect it to be up to standard from the source.”
One high-profile restaurant named on the list was the popular Roadster Diner. The 16-year-old chain has 13 stores in Beirut and its suburbs, and is dear to many people.
The company issued a press release on its Facebook page Wednesday evening in which it stressed that it was committed to “food safety and quality.” The statement emphasized that Roadster had ISO 22000 certification and certification from the Lebanese Association for Food Safety.
Arbid, the head of the Lebanese Franchise Association, questioned the methods used by the government, as in his opinion, “all or most of the franchise restaurants that were named by the minister have ISO certificates for excellent quality.”
Roadster’s senior brand manager Sahar Dumyati said that the restaurant was currently collaborating with the ministry on how they could move forward. Unlike other companies, Dumyati said they were not caught off guard by the list.
“All [this] time we’ve been collaborating with the Health Ministry; this is not a surprise,” Dumyati told The Daily Star. “This is routine. The twist that’s added is the media exposure. “
Dumyati could not give further details on what steps Roadster would be taking, but she did say she was somewhat ‘concerned’ about Abu Faour’s comment Thursday that the Interior Ministry would begin taking action against the listed restaurants and supermarkets.
There has been a notable amount of support for Roadster on social media, and the comment feed under their press release had amassed 2,000 likes at the time of print.
“You’ll see a balance [on social media],” Dumyati said. “This is where the trust and credibility of the brand comes in
“You have the brand bashers, and the brand defenders.”
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