Dubai/Fujairah/Abu Dhabi: Insects, mould and stomach pains - these are what you do not want to accompany your meal.
The lack of hygienic standards in food outlets has come under scrutiny recently due to the rising number of people willing to take a stand and report the incidents to the relevant authorities.
In the past week several cases of food poisoning and unhealthy food items being sold in supermarkets have been reported, highlighting the issue of hygiene in restaurants.
A bank worker found a cockroach underneath the last slice of his take-away pizza, a mother found a takeaway burger that was covered in black mould, and six people fell ill after eating buffet food at the weekend.
Much to the alarm of customers, these cases are not confined to one particular neighbourhood but are spread across all types of food outlets.
In a recent Gulf News poll, respondents were asked to rate the hygiene standard in fast food restaurants.
The majority of respondents at 53 per cent rated it as average and 33 per cent said it was poor. Only nine per cent rated it as very good and the remaining five per cent said they did not know.
City Talk took to the streets and asked residents whether they were concerned about the standard of hygiene in restaurants and supermarkets, and if they ever found insects in the food they bought.
Paula Furfaro, a homemaker from Brazil, 29, said: "It is essential that you look at the dates before buying any product.
"I once purchased a packet of rice from a supermarket. When I went home and opened the pack my whole house was filled with foul smell. It was rotten and had insects though the product had a valid expiry date. But since it didn't cost me much I didn't take up the issue. Ever since then I have been more careful while purchasing, especially food."
Bilal Mohammad Arkawi, a businessman from Syria, 27, said: "You have to be very careful where you buy your food because it is becoming common to find insects in your food these days.
"I recently bought a sandwich and found a moth inside it, but when I complained to the manager he replied that these sorts of things happen sometimes. I've never been to that shop again. I think that restaurant owners should take more responsibility for [the food] served to their customers."
Mohammad Badri, an Egyptian offshore lab-ourer, 36, said he is more concerned about the rising cost of food.
"It is very hard for people like us to make our ends meet. I think food hygiene is taken care of well here. I personally have never got bad food from restaurants or shops here."
Helmi Al Minshawi, 46, a real estate agent from Egypt, said: "I think there is a real problem with food hygiene in many restaurants and supermarkets, and that's down to a lack of close scrutiny by the authorities.
Public kitchens and restaurants are particularly suspicious because you don't really know how the food has been processed.
"The municipality needs to do more inspections and have stronger measures against violators, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case."
He added that a few weeks ago he had to take his son to the doctor because he developed a rash after eating some sweets.
Pakistani driver Abdul Hussain, 54, said: "I trust home cooked food. I don't think foods cooked in restaurants are made in accordance with good hygienic standards.
"I have got a cockroach while eating out. But I am not worried finding insects in food products bought from shops because I think the authorities monitor this in a better way."
Ahmad Al Yaseen, a Syrian barber, 24, said: "I am very worried about the oil used for cooking.
"The restaurants use the same oil to fry the chicken, the vegetables and the potato chips and everything turns out to be very greasy and oily. It is a very unhygienic habit that many restaurants take up, and I have suffered from hair loss and rashes because of these unhealthy cooking methods."
Al Raeei Saeed Ali, Egyptian legal adviser, 50, said: "Food and water are the most important consumer products out there because they can have such an effect on health. So they should be the most important to monitor. There are too many cases of people suffering from bad reactions after eating outside and that will only increase with the advent of summer."
He said while visiting a friend with a broken leg in hospital, he was shocked to see the number of patients with food poisoning.
"Only when you go to a first class restaurant can you see a decent level of hygiene, but in most other eateries, which are used by the majority of people, the story is a different one," he added.
Customer service representative Mohammad Saleem, 22, from India, said: "Many grocery shops and supermarkets sell pulses infested with insects. There is also a problem with the vegetables because I sometimes find small bugs.
"I have to then throw the vegetables ... because they can't be eaten and I am very worried that the food in general can affect my health if I am not careful."
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