Dubai: Nearly 500 eateries running shawarma stalls in Dubai face closure of their shawarma stands if they do not comply with the Dubai Municipality’s new rules by November.
Shawarma stands have disappeared from more than two dozen cafeterias till last month after the Food Safety Department started implementing the new guidelines on space and equipment requirements a year after they were issued in May 2015.
The department has issued notices to 481 eateries, mostly cafeterias, asking them to correct their premise status as per the guidelines within the grace period of six months till November, a senior official told Gulf News on Thursday.
“Many places like cafeterias did not have the space and equipment that are required for shawarma making in safe conditions,” said Sultan Ali Al Taher, the head of Food Inspection Section.
“We issued the guidelines for them in May last year. From this May till August, 23 shawarma stands were shut as they were not able to meet these requirements.”
He said a few more were shut in August as well. “Some 43 premises have complied with the regulations while 171 premises are in the process of correcting their positions and implementing the rules. But about 245 have not done anything yet. All of them have to meet the standards that are set for improving safety of shawarma making by November,” he said.
Bobby Krishna, the principal food inspector with the municipality, said the main problem that inspectors see is there is no separate area for handling chicken or meat in cafeterias selling shawarma.
“Making shawarma in a safe and hygienic way requires a lot of space. Many cafeterias do not have that much space. The second thing is that they don’t hold salads and mayonnaise in refrigerated condition, which is a food safety risk,” said Krishna.
The inspectors order cafeterias not meeting the requirements to close only the shawarma services. “These rules are specifically aimed at improving the safety of shawarma services. It will not affect their other services. And we do not ask them to stop the shawarma sale if it is only a minor issue.”
There are many guidelines for pre-preparation activities and cooking that should be followed for ensuring food safety and hygiene throughout the operation.
Inspectors will look for the suitability of the shawarma area and make sure that it is dustproof and well ventilated so that the employee can work comfortably.
The workload of selling shawarma should be managed comfortably and there should be suitable and sufficient space in the kitchen to carry out all preparation activities including final wrapping.
There should be sufficient refrigeration facility for storing raw meat, salads, mayonnaise, hummus etc in the shawarma area. There are specific requirements for meat and salad preparation tables and sinks for hand wash and cleaning/disinfecting vegetables, equipment and containers.
Shawarma drip collection tray should be placed under the meat stack to prevent raw meat juice dripping from the shawarma cone tower getting mixed with and contaminating the cooked meat. An area for storage of slicing equipment is also mandatory.
