News from Sharjah Municipality

SHARJAH: Sharjah Municipality (SM) has intensified its all-week-long inspection campaigns at public service establishments to ensure that they are adhering to the strict health and hygiene measures during summer and the upcoming Holy Month of Ramadan..... Officials from the food and hygiene department are conducting day and night checks during this period at restaurants, public kitchens, groceries and supermarkets to ensure that the health and hygienic standards are observed while stocking, preparing and preserving food items. Assistant Director-General for Health, Environment and Quality at the Sharjah Municipality Dr Rasha Ahmed Al Qassimi said that inspectors would focus on small groceries and supermarkets whose personnel it has been alleged, keep refrigerators stocking perishable food items switched off during nighttime, in order to save on electric bills. Some people even keep food items exposed overnight, increasing the possibility of their getting damaged sooner than expected due to the extreme summer heat, she said. The municipality has so far booked 5,392 cases of such violations during the first half of 2013, the official revealed. The municipality, starting from this year, is implementing two types of inspection campaigns - one to control groceries and supermarkets and the other, to control establishments serving/selling food items, she added. Campaigns at groceries and supermarkets will start from six in the morning to actually verify whether shopkeepers are keeping their refrigerators switched off at night or making any illegal power supply adjustments during shutdown hours. The second campaign includes intensified supervision at restaurants, kitchens and other establishments serving food products during the Holy Month of Ramadan. This is to enforce implementation of sanitary procedures at these facilities. Campaigns would include a thorough inspection of the vents, chimneys and fans to make sure of the observance of good health practices and hygiene by workers employed at places that process and serve food. She underlined that these seasonal inspections, especially timed during the summer and the month of Ramadan were to preserve the health and safety of consumers, Al Qassimi said. SM had issued 5,392 violation notices regarding a variety of issues to food establishments operating in Sharjah. Offenses ranged from commercial fraud and irregularities, lack of hygiene in the procurement, preparation, processing, transportation, and preservation of food, besides the absence of health cards for staff. The campaigns emphasised increasing awareness among shopkeepers, workers at markets and food establishments and consumers alike, on how good storage facilities ought to be. The inspectors would also check the health of individuals besides the process employed to procure, process and serve food. Checks would ensure application of sanitary and other measures regarding food storage, like proper temperature control, cleanliness of preparation areas, hygienic processing and distribution of food. The municipality has set up special working hours for food inspectors in three shifts instead of the normal two shifts. Their regular work will start from 9 in the morning until 1am, so as to enable them to cover all the areas actively engaged within the food industry, she said. They will also work additionally on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays to follow up on complaints received through the hotline 993.