Newspapers frequently publish reports of food poisoning. We continue to hear of people rushed to hospitals after eating at a local restaurant which failed to observe even the most basic standards of health and hygiene. Someone whom I trust is closely associated with the restaurant business and he told me a shocking story.
He said that there are many restaurants which regularly buy meat, fish and chicken on the point of expiry and then treat it by adding special additives to make it edible. This is a special problem with meat for preparing shawarma which is what is most commonly cited in cases of food poisoning.
A chicken reaching its expiry date is sold for just SR1 because the businessman wants to get rid of it as soon as possible and spare himself any possible trouble resulting from being caught by municipality officials.
Once the meat is at the restaurant, it is subjected to a prolonged process of cleaning and purification.
This includes immersion in a mixture of salt water and vinegar designed to remove any bad smell or outward signs of rottenness. The meat is removed from the mixture and prepared for cooking; whoever eats it will not detect anything wrong because of heavy spicing.
Whenever inspectors hear of a case of poisoning they rush to the place to close the restaurants and prepare a report so that action can be taken. The punishment is always the same: Even if scores of people have been poisoned, a fine of between SR1,000 to SR5,000 at the most and closing the restaurant for a few days!
Because of so insignificant a punishment, other restaurants are not afraid to use old meat. The possibility of being caught does not frighten them at all.
Why should they when the fine is so slight and their profits so huge?
If matters are left as they are, people buying food from restaurants have only themselves to blame. How long will they have to live with such unhealthy possibilities?
