Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Sidonians scramble to stay clear of food scandal


SIDON, Lebanon: Shop owners in Sidon have been busy making sure their businesses remain open following a nationwide crackdown on restaurants with poor health and safety records by the Health Ministry last month. The ministry campaign named and shamed places violating health standards and selling contaminated food, threatening to close them down for good, and the fear elicited by the scandal seems to have done its job.


“One of my branches has been closed,” said Marwan Aitour, who owns a chicken rotisserie shop.


“So I am working hard in the other branch where a sample has been taken [by ministry inspectors] and it [the results] came out matching the health conditions necessary for public safety.”


Aitour, who fully supports Health Minister Wael Abu Faour’s campaign, proudly points to a poster that reads: “Daily slaughtering based on safe health standards from the producer to the consumer.”


He stressed that although it requires a lot of effort, there’s nothing more important than cleanliness.


Some owners whose shops have been shut down by the inspectors have been working on setting things straight by following through with the inspectors’ demands.


Those not yet in trouble are taking precautionary measures in order to prevent the closure of their businesses. Such measures include renovating and cleaning their sites, becoming stricter with their employees and keeping an eye on their work.


A diligent few were already following food safety health standards and laws set by the health, economy and environment ministries long before Abu Faour announced his food safety campaign, which does not appear to be in danger of losing steam anytime soon.


Abu Faour’s move has thrust the issue of food safety into the limelight, prompting numerous establishment owners to refocus their attention on what they’re serving for the sake of public health.


Since the Health Ministry ordered the closure of several dairy factories in the Bekaa Valley and Sidon, consumers are increasingly opting to produce dairy products in their homes.


“Upon order of the public prosecution, this place has been shut down,” is a killer statement for any shop or eatery owner to hear.


Touffic Jamal, a butcher, said he placed a lot of weight on maintaining the hygiene of his venue, located in Sidon’s souk.


“Representatives [inspectors] from the Health Ministry came here, examined everything and asked that the garbage bin should have a lid,” said Jamal, describing the instruction as “important.”


“I take care of cleanliness because Islam ordered us to do so and linked it to faith” he added.


Inside an old bakery that produces bread and manakeesh, employees have started covering their hair and wearing a clean uniform following a warning from the ministry.


Citizens like Khodor Aafara expressed their support for the food safety campaign, saying they hoped it would continue.


“The minister [Abu Faour] should continue with his duty,” Aafara said, adding that the health of the citizen was what was important


“This has come late – ministers before him should’ve done it.”


For some owners, however, the decision to shut down their venues came as unexpected and unwelcome news. Talal Habesh’s dairy factory was shut after he had already closed it in order to renovate it.


“Representatives from the Health Ministry came here and they had some remarks such as [the need for] health certificates for employees, tiling certain places and stressing the need to own a fire extinguisher,” Habesh told The Daily Star. “However, I was surprised that after a week they shut down the factory knowing that I closed it. This is unfair.”


Despite the criticism the campaign has been subjected to, however, food safety should be a priority for owners, Nader Ousta stressed.


“Why is it that we need to wait for comments and closure or warnings?” asked Ousta, a butcher known in Sidon for his cleanliness. For him, checking what he is serving to his customers is a must, a duty.


“But before all of that, God is watching us,” he added. “Our institutions are generating money for us that we need to spend on clean things and people’s safety.”


These comments were echoed by the director-general of Al-Baba Sweets, Aouni Baba.


“First of all, you have to fear God and know that he’s watching all your work and what you are serving to the people,” Baba explained.


Speaking from his Oriental sweets factory, Baba said the increased food safety vigilance needed to be an ongoing thing. “Each one of us is capable of making errors, but following up on your employees and products are sufficient to get on top,” he said. “Don’t wait for a campaign by governmental institutions.”


According to Baba, workers in the in the ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-certified sweets shop are being monitored constantly to maintain cleanliness.


But the damage has already been done for some.


The demand for tomatoes, parsley and coriander has decreased, explained a vegetable seller.


“Those are being watered and irrigated in cultivated lands with sewage water,” Mohammad Honaiqer said.


Still, he said he supported the move by Abu Faour, because revealing the names of incompliant establishments scared others and prompted them to boost their standards.



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