Sharjah closes restaurant after viral video reveals shocking unhygienic practices
Online video in Khor Fakkan showed a shawarma stand placed in a bucket on the floor
Sharjah: The municipality of Khor Fakkan has shut down a restaurant after a viral video revealed the unhygienic practices of kitchen staff.
The video, which was widely circulated on social networking sites in the UAE, showed a shawarma stand and pieces of raw chicken stored in buckets on the kitchen floor.
Fawzia Al Qadi, director of Khor Fakkan Municipality, told the Arabic daily Al Khaleej that the restaurant was immediately closed by the Department of Economic Development after the municipality filed a complaint with police and to health officials concerned.
The town of Khor Fakkan, which lies under the jurisdiction of the emirate of Sharjah, follows a strict food code and standard of hygiene as issued by Sharjah Municipality.
Gulf News earlier reported that during the last eight months of 2018, 34 food outlets were temporarily closed and 3,345 fines were imposed across a number of food establishments for failing to comply with the authority’s food regulations.
According to Sharjah Municipality, food outlets can face a number of fines for violating the health and safety code, including:
- Dh2,500: Exposure of drinking water in the food establishment from a contaminated source.
- Dh500: Lack of cleanliness of the external environment of the site.
- Dh500: Failure to provide sterilizers for tools, utensils and surfaces that come into contact with food.
- Dh500: Lack of storage containers required for business activities.
- Dh400: Failure to clean fridges and freezers properly.
- Dh350: Unclean washrooms.
- Dh250: Lack of storage containers required for business activity or failure to clean them properly.
Residents in Sharjah can call the municipality on the hotline number 993 to file complaints regarding food violations.