Dubai: Dubai Municipality has fined a hypermarket after a customer found fungus inside a garlic paste jar.
Shunmuga Raja, a machine operator, explained that he found the fungus after opening the jar his roommate bought from the hypermarket. He added that in response to the incident, he called Dubai Municipality to file a complaint.
“I found fungus inside the cap and inside the jar too,” said Raja. “We only realised this when we reached home and we were not sure if other jars had the same issue or not so we contacted the municipality for them to take action.”
A Dubai Municipality official confirmed that action was taken the same day they received the complaint and the complainant was notified via a text message.
The official from the inspection section of the Food Control Department told Gulf News that in such cases, action is taken after inspectors investigate the incident and confirm the validity of the complaint. “The garlic jar was taken from the individual who complained and inspectors assessed the situation,” he said. “Sometimes the cause of the occurrence is not clear so further inspections, or investigations, are carried out.”
The official added that in some instances the cause can be storage conditions that do not comply with municipality standards and other times manufacturers are held accountable for the offence. Raja said: “I was told on the same day that an inspector has been sent and when I called the Dubai Municipality helpline to inquire about the action taken, I was told that the hypermarket was fined for the offence,” he explained.
Samil Musaliar, general manager of Al Manama Hypermarket, said he was not aware of this specific case, however, he assures the public that the hypermarket’s storage methods are up to standard. “When we receive products from manufacturers, especially packed foods, we inspect them before putting them on the shelf,” said Musaliar. “Also, in our warehouses, we store the different food products at appropriate temperatures.”
Musaliar explained that packed foods are inspected when received from manufacturers to guarantee that expiry dates are correct and that products are intact. He added that when rare incidents occur, immediate action is also taken by the hypermarket to avoid future incidents in order to maintain customer satisfaction.
Dubai Municipality’s toll-free number for any complaints is 800900
