Mahmoud Ahmad

 

THE Jeddah Municipality’s recent crackdown on eateries that miserably failed to meet fundamental standards of cleanliness in the preparation and serving of food was a shock for many.



I am not exaggerating when I say the crackdown was a shock because I do not remember the last time the municipality came down hard on violators.



News that famous and popular restaurants across Jeddah were closing one after the other was a surprise for many. Over 100 restaurants were closed across the city.



One particular closure interested me a lot. I really did not think the municipality had the mettle to close down a leading five-star restaurant in Jeddah owned by a well-known tycoon for failing to meet health and cleanliness standards.



Though the crackdown is extremely late—a bit too late if you ask me—it is better late than never.



Health inspectors at the Jeddah Municipality, using newspapers and social media, finally did something that we have been waiting for—naming and shaming violators.



Not only that, the municipality has been busy publishing photos of violations found in kitchens and in the backrooms of restaurants for the public to actually see.



Some of the violations are horrifying and disgusting; the images make you feel like never eating in a restaurant again.



I visited some of these eateries and now worry that some of the food I may have eaten was prepared and cooked in filthy unhygienic kitchens.



The thought makes me shudder. The municipality also showed images of food prepared in toilets and bathrooms. Rotten meat unfit for consumption had been cooked and served.



How disgusting is that? The poor personal hygiene and filthy habits of kitchen staff have also been documented.



Some of the staff were found to have injuries to their hands and failed to wear gloves—practices that would definitely lead to the transmission of diseases.



The municipality also found rusty kitchen knives and other unsuitable equipment in use at some of these restaurants.



Food was stored in poor conditions, and kitchens and storerooms were infested with cockroaches and other horrible creepy-crawlies.



What makes this entire scenario so strange is that the owners of these restaurants—instead of pulling their acts together and remedying the problem—threatened to file a complaint and take the municipality to court.



Aside from being totally stupid and imbecilic, I would also suggest it is audacious and oozes of a lack of respect for common, hardworking, decent ordinary people who patronize these places.



The municipality, on the other hand, threatened to go to court with the evidence it had accumulated showing how dirty and filthy these restaurants actually are.



Is it the case that these restaurant owners are angry and embarrassed that they have been named and shamed and so threaten court action? Do they not realize that the public has seen how dirty their businesses actually are? Is it because they are angry that they are now unable to serve cheap, dirty and rotten food to customers, regardless of their popular and famous brand names?



They have the cheek to pretend to be angry when they should be lowering their heads in shame and issuing public statements apologizing to their customers and pledging to improve their restaurants.



As customers, we all trusted these famous names and never thought they would cheat on us with dirty food.



However, there is a further important question that needs answering. Where was the municipality before all of this? As I said before, it is better late than never.



However, the municipality should be held responsible for having done nothing for quite some time.



Where have the health inspectors been hiding? People have been cheated and sold rotten food. People have fallen ill and the municipality simply sat around doing nothing.



The Ministry of Commerce is, as we see it, the only ministry that helps consumers by cracking down on bad businesses and responding quickly when complaints are received.



The minister of commerce has helped develop a new type of culture, one in which consumers are protected.



This is the Ministry of Commerce’s number one priority. I think it is about time other ministries and departments followed suit by adopting a similar strategy.



Customers should be given priority. It is also important that people do their part and report bad practices to the relevant departments.



With social media at hand, doing so is not difficult. There is no excuse and it is time to act.



— The writer can be contacted at mahmad@saudigazette.com.sa. Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng