Abu Faour Unveils Names of Restaurants and Firms Violating Food Safety Standards
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour raised the alarm on Tuesday over food safety in the country, warning that “the food that the Lebanese are eating is full of diseases.”
“A large number of foodstuffs firms are operating without licenses and without meeting the proper health conditions,” the minister announced at a press conference.
“Some of the food that is being consumed by the Lebanese contains remains of human feces and this is something intolerable,” Abo Faour revealed, lamenting the dire situation.
The minister noted that warnings will be addressed to the violating restaurants and fines will be imposed over practices that pose a health risk to consumers.
“I will ask the interior minister to close the sections that do not meet the proper health and hygiene conditions in all the aforementioned firms until they rectify their situations,” Abou Faour added, stressing that the ministry's campaign “is not temporary” and vowing to “disclose more names.”
The minister noted that 1,005 firms were inspected across Lebanon and that 3,600 samples were sent to the laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Revealing the names of these firms “is not aimed at defamation or at harming their business,” Abu Faour noted, emphasizing that he is only shouldering his responsibility as health minister.
“Some of the owners are my personal friends and some of them support our political party,” Abu Faour added.
In addition to contamination with bacteria and other inedible substances, the minister mentioned other violations involving “the presence of flies on the refrigerators of dairy products, the presence of open garbage bins in kitchens, workers not wearing gloves … and frying oil that was not changed for months.”
Listed below are some of the firms and products mentioned by Abu Faour:
- Hamburger meat at Fahed Supermarket, Jounieh
- Chicken breast at Hawa Chicken, Jbeil, Aley and Khalde
- Meat products at Spinneys Supermarket, Jbeil
- Meat products at Jbeil Supermarket, Jbeil
- Meat, shawarma, minced meat and sausage at Bou Khalil Supermarket, Damour
- Soujouk (hot sausage) at Bedo snack, Bourj Hammoud
- Chicken at Metro Superstore, Baabda
- Chicken at Rammal Supermarket, Baabda
- Meat at El Khawli Supermarket, Bauchrieh
- Some products at Brummana Market and al-Sultan Butchery in Metn
- Qashta (Arabic cream) at Abdul Rahman Hallab & Sons Sweets, Tripoli
- Chicken and mayonnaise at Crepina Restaurant, Tripoli
- Various products at the Dar al-Qamar, Shay w Asal and Baitna restaurants in Tripoli
- Beef, hamburger, minced meat and shish taouk at TSC Supermarket, Metn
- Meat products at al-Natour Company for Meat and Food Products, Beirut
(According to the minister, the full list of violating businesses in Beirut will be released in the next few days)
Y.R.
M.T.
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