JEDDAH, 26 February 2006 — You should be really cautious and careful when buying food from restaurants. Investigations have exposed a lot of dirty business in unsanitary kitchens. Is there supervision from the municipality at all?
Opinions differ about the seriousness of the issue. Some people say that health education regarding balanced and healthy food habits must be taught at an early age. Some others feel that local officials must not only set rules and regulations for new restaurants and coffee shops, but they must ensure that the regulations are implemented for the safety of everyone.
Reporters of the Al-Jazirah Arabic daily carried out an investigation that involved several well-attended restaurants in Jeddah. A huge number of people rush to dine in these restaurants and here is some of what these people think about them.
Ali Al Harbi, an undergraduate student, said that he and his colleagues enjoy the daily fried chicken meal served by a well-known restaurant. The reason why they choose this particular restaurant is because they trust the eatery’s efforts in providing healthy and delicious meals.
Another client, Ahmad Al-Harbi, confirms the fact that fast-food restaurants, especially the ones that serve fried chicken, are very convenient. They serve good quality food at reasonable prices.
Salem Esaily contributed to Al-Jazirah’s research campaign saying that rotisserie chicken stands and restaurants found in any street are subject to more contamination. Dirty hands may cook these meals and the owners of many of these shops fail to follow simple cleanness rules and regulations. The municipality should supervise these restaurants to prevent food poisoning cases from happening.
Employees in several places that serve traditional food refused to admit the fact that there is negligence inside their kitchens. In fact, many refused to let reporters inside their kitchens.
Another common problem Al-Jazirah reporters noticed during their trip was the huge number of mosquitoes hovering inside some restaurants, especially at night. It can be very difficult to maintain a healthy clean environment inside a food shop when these insects carry germs from one corner to the other.
“Junk food restaurants and coffee shops is just a fast way of making money. They benefit from the number of people rushing everyday to have their meals outside. Lack of supervision makes it easy for these restaurants to avoid buying quality products or cleaning equipment to ensure a healthy environment,” said nutritionist Ahmad Al-Mezain, adding that early awareness of healthy eating habits plays a big role in bringing up a new generation that doesn’t depend on eating only fast food.
Some of the things Al-Jazirah reporters witnessed during their investigation were meat and chicken leftovers served the next day as fresh new meals and employees not wearing gloves or head covering to keep the food clean. They saw all kinds of insects and bugs running in different areas inside some kitchens. The use of old frying oil that has been reused well beyond its prime was another common sight. Sometimes reporters found employees inside some restaurants with injured and wounded hands preparing food without gloves.
And, please, don’t ever think of eating fresh salads anywhere. There is a lesser risk in eating cooked food because high temperature kills microbes.
Until local officials get serious about restaurant inspections, the word on the street is: Eater beware!
