RIYADH: Authorities shut down a detergent factory this week in the capital for not adhering to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's requirements.

The ministry's inspection team detected the violation during a routine visit to the industrial quarter of the city. The factory, in the Sulay quarter east of Riyadh, had violated the industrial regulations of the Kingdom.

The inspectors found the absence of a laboratory for mixing chemicals, broken-down equipment, and a nonconformity of products with the approved specifications and standards. The inspectors also found that the commercial data were incomplete and the production yard was unclean. An official of the ministry said: “This is contrary to the necessary conditions and requirements of the MCI.”

The owner of the factory has been summoned for investigation. The inspection teams confiscated more than 120 cartons of soap, 50 cartons of detergents, 100 cartons of chlorine, as well as 100 cartons of floor detergents and 70 cartons of glass cleaner.

The ministry formed a special committee to review industrial violations and to impose the necessary penalties on the violators of the rules. According to an official from the MCI, the purpose of forming such committees is to monitor and control industrial violations that are harmful to health as well as to the national economy. He also said the ministry would continue its efforts to follow up all the factories and production lines in all regions of the Kingdom to verify their conformity with the needed requirements, and to monitor any abuses or attempts to cheat consumers.

He stressed that the Ministry will not hesitate to impose legal penalties on violators and those others involved in fraud and counterfeiting. The Ministry calls on all consumers to report their complaints and observations to the Notification Center in the Ministry on their toll free line : 1900.