Covid in UAE: 167,500kg of food seized from 17 restaurants

Sharjah - Seized food items were found unfit for human consumption due to non-compliance with Covid-19-related public health safety norms.

Published: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 1:13 PM

By
Afkar Ali Ahmed

The Al Dhaid City Municipality authorities have confiscated 167,500 kilograms of food, which was found unfit for human consumption and 17 restaurants for non-compliance with Covid-19 related public health safety norms.

The action has been taken amid the intensified campaign titled ‘summer inspection’, which was launched recently to ensure public health safety in Al Dhaid.

Ahmed Musabeh Al Tunaiji, the head of the Public Health Department at Al Dhaid City Municipality, said the civic authorities carried out surprise inspection checks to ensure that eateries would comply with precautionary norms related to the contagion and all measures are implemented during sizzling summer months.

The civic authorities inspected 196 food outlets, including supermarkets, grocery stores and restaurants and confiscated 167,500kg of food found to be unfit for human consumption.

Al Tunaiji said that the inspection drive is conducted in the morning and evening.

The inspectors conducted checks on food items and ensured that air-conditioners (ACs) would be operational 24x7 to prevent food items from spoiling because of their exposure to oppressive dry heat during peak summer months.

Al Tunaiji stressed that the civic authorities are monitoring fast-food restaurants in light of exceedingly high temperatures by conducting surprise and periodic inspections to check the functioning of AC facilities and the quality of food being served adhering to the prescribed norms.

He said food outlet owners would be held accountable for any non-compliance with norms and stringent penalties would be imposed against them.