Dubai: Workers in Dubai are ignoring the warnings of Dubai authorities and are putting their health at risk by purchasing food unfit for human consumption.
Last Friday, Dubai Municipality said it confiscated 35 tonnes of rotten food during an inspection campaign that was carried out at an illegal market in Muhaisnah.
The rotten food consisted of meat and poultry.
A senior official at Dubai Municipality told Gulf News that the raid took place at an open area near a worker’s accommodation, in cooperation with Dubai Police and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.
What is an illegal market?
Marwan Al Mohammed, director of the public health and safety department at Dubai Municipality, said: “There is a big demand for illegal markets because workers do not have a lot of money to spend on meat and food. So for a few hours, vendors will set up a shop at a specific destination and sell food items at a very low cost.”
Campaigns such as these tackle temporary markets as most of the products sold have not been inspected and do not comply with the approved health requirements.
“However, the workers seem to not care about the risks and jeopardise their health and safety to purchase spoilt goods,” he said.
Illegal markets has become a concern for municipal officials, who are tackling such illegal trade activities through carrying out random inspections.
“Since the beginning of 2016, Dubai Municipality has carried out 23 raids against illegal markets, which are not only found in Muhaisnah, but also the industrial areas of Jebel Ali and Al Quoz,” he said.
According to previous Gulf News reports, the last raids at temporary illegal markets also included the confiscation of rotten fruit, fish and vegetable products that were being sold past their expiry date in temporary markets. Other confiscated items included food that contained substances and ingredients banned in the country.
