SIDON, Lebanon: A restaurant was shut down in south Lebanon Tuesday as part of the country’s ongoing campaign against food outlets that do not meet safety criteria, though one of the owners denied that the closure was due to health issues.
Abu Alaa, owner of the Sidon branch of Syrian restaurant and sweet shop Ya Mal al-Sham, said the restaurant had been closed due to the fact that the restaurant’s kitchen was not tiled and the chairs and tables were old.
The judiciary ordered the closure of the restaurant just five months after it opened. The restaurant is famous in Syria for its sweets and home-style cooking.
The food campaign launched a month ago by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour led to the closure of several slaughterhouses, including Beirut’s main abattoir, in addition to restaurants and dairy product factories across the country.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, state prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud received lab test results from samples taken from the Taanayel Center dairy farm in Zahle, which had been revealed to contain insects and expired materials. Judicial sources said that Abu Faour had sent the lab results to Hammoud.
The state prosecutor passed the matter on to Judge Farid Kalas in the Bekaa Valley, urging him to follow up on investigations and take legal measures against those responsible.
Separately, food company Tanmiah said in a statement that all tests conducted by authorities on its products had met health specifications.
“Out of its eagerness to deal transparently and accurately with its consumers, Tanmiah clarifies that the results of all tests conducted on its products between Oct. 12 and Oct. 20, 2014, by the health, agriculture, economy and industry ministries and by the Authority of Scientific Agricultural Research satisfied the standards ... of LIBNOR,” the company said.
LIBNOR, or the Lebanese Standards Institution, is the sole authority allowed to issue, publish and amend standards in Lebanon. It is a full member of the International Organization for Standardization.
On Monday, Abu Faour asked Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk to shut down Tanmiah’s factory for two weeks until the company had carried out measures needed to meet the required standards.
The request came after a Health Ministry unit inspected the company in the Bekaa Valley last week and reported that the factory violated hygiene and health standards.
Tanmiah, which produces meat and chicken items, said in the statement that since the launch of the food safety campaign by Abu Faour last month, it had fully cooperated with the departments of all relevant ministries who sent teams to the company’s center, factories and farms.
“The company stresses that it did not receive any written recommendations,” the statement said.
“Once again, the company stresses its full readiness to cooperate with the Health Ministry to satisfy the highest food safety specifications.”
As a result of the campaign, a parliamentary subcommittee was formed last week with the aim of drafting a food safety law within two weeks.
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