According to a report by Riyadh Mayoralty, close to 50 percent of restaurants and cafés in Riyadh violate health codes. Health inspectors found over 50 percent of waiters and cooks were operating without health certificates. Additionally cooks were found to be using meat in their cooking which was expired or contaminated, Al-Watan reported. Suliman Bin Hamad Al-Bathi, director of Health Environment in Riyadh Mayoralty said such violations pose an imminent danger to public health and could be the reason behind the increase in food poisoning cases. Obtaining a health certificate, he said, was a simple task. “The worker needs to be examined by a certified health professional and if found fit the certificate can be completed in less than a day,” he said. Al-Bathi said his administration would not compromise public health and would deal harshly with restaurants and cafeterias violating health and hygiene conditions.
