known restaurants in Jeddah have been shut down for violating hygienic regulations. The closures came after an inspection tour of 50 upscale restaurants by Jeddah Mayoralty. The inspections team led by Deputy Mayor for Services Ali Al-Qahtani found a number of violations including dirty hand towels for customers, dirty floors and insect traps and unhygienic food products. It also discovered that most of the workers did not have health certificates. The team also discovered that some food was actually stored in garbage containers, waiters were not dressed in the uniform of their restaurant and many food containers were uncovered. Al-Qahtani said that the team fined each of the violating restaurants SR25,000 on the spot. Apart from the fine, the restaurants have been shut down for three days to enable the owners to carry out the necessary maintenance work, he said.
