Badea Abu Al-Naja Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — The municipality of the holy city has shut down 19 restaurants and warned two foodstuff stores of closure for committing various public health violations. The municipality launched a massive campaign against violating eateries and stores on Sunday and has formed teams of health inspectors and supervisors for the purpose. The teams were supplied with cleaners, vehicles and equipment to check the validity of food items. The closed restaurants fell within the jurisdiction of Al-Otaibiyah and Al-Shawkiyyah municipalities. Mohammed Hashim Al-Fawtawi, director of the municipality's department of environmental health, said 1,771 ton of foodstuffs which had either expired or were improperly stored were confiscated and destroyed. He said a total of 293 utensils were destroyed because they were dirty and unsuitable for cooking. Al-Fawtawi said the violations the teams discovered included, among others, poor hygiene, improper storage of foodstuffs, using expired food items and failure to renew licenses. He reiterated that the campaign will continue as part of the municipality's efforts to maintain good public health and preserve environmental safety.
