Manama: Bahrain's Health Ministry says it could soon name and shame restaurants that fail to comply with health and sanitary regulations.
"We are now looking into publishing the names of restaurants that do not respect regulations and fail to keep the standards set by the authorities," Dr Khairiya Mousa, the Head of Public Health, has said. "We will report their names in the local press."
The Health Ministry reports that it has shut down restaurants for a couple of days for failing inspection tests, but has not published their names.
However it now wants to put more pressure on restaurant owners and managers to fully comply with health standards.
"We held a meeting with several food outlets to reiterate the importance of health standards. We also talked about the special safety measures that they should take when they set up their Ramadan tents," Khairiya said. "We want the highest standards everywhere and there is no truth to allegations that the ministry is targeting specific restaurants."
Health officials will make more surprise inspection visits this summer to help ensure that standards are met, she said. "The inspectors will assess the measures taken for the storage, preparation and presentation of food."
The ministry last week ordered the shutting down of a well-known fast-food restaurant in one of Manama's busiest areas, demanding that all criteria be met before it was allowed to re-open.
