While the Acting Director of the Food Inspection Division in Dubai Municipality, Abdulaziz Bashir, revealed to “Emirates Al-Youm” that “violating the presence of rodents and insects and the lack of insect control devices in restaurants ranked third in the list of the most frequent violations,” explaining that “the number of these violations reached Violations since the beginning of this year 291.”
Bashir pointed out that “all fast food restaurants, regardless of their classifications and types, fall into the (B) and (C) categories, which means “very good” and “good,” while the number of restaurants that fall into the excellent A category is only 27 restaurants out of a total of 4,772 restaurants. It includes fast food restaurants, cafeterias, cafes, and consumer mall restaurants, but does not include hotel restaurants, compared to 14 restaurants in the same category last year.
In detail, visitors to fast food restaurants and cafes complained about repeatedly finding insects inside them. Samah Ahmed said, “While I was in an internationally known fast food restaurant, I found a cockroach in the salad served within the meal, which angered me and made me complain to the manager.”
She added, “The biggest disaster was when the restaurant manager told me that this was the result of spraying the restaurant with pesticides two days before the food supplies arrived,” stressing that “spraying the restaurant with pesticides was at the time of providing services and food to customers,” which surprised her, so she took a picture of what she found in the room. Apply authority to provide proof of what you found.
Another girl named Noura supported her, saying that she “went to a restaurant in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, and ordered pizza, and was surprised by a dead fly in the salad plate. When she told the official, she apologized to her and told her to order another dish and do not pay the value of the account, but do not report this mistake to the municipality.” . Visitors to fast food restaurants and cafes in commercial centers stated that they “do not care about the cleanliness of metal utensils or the smell of the dishes on which food is served,” stressing that “the utensils in which food is prepared are not clean.”
They reported that “most Asian restaurant workers do not wash their hands after finishing using the bathrooms, as if this is a normal thing.” They also confirmed that “not all of them wear head coverings, which resulted in the presence of hair from these people in the dishes served, in addition to the spread of rodents in the area.” Some cafes.
For his part, the Acting Director of the Food Inspection Division in Dubai Municipality explained that “one of the most important violations that we focus on in restaurants in general is controlling cold and hot temperatures,” indicating that “hot temperatures must be 63 degrees Celsius and above, and cold temperatures must be five degrees Celsius and above.” Degrees Celsius and below, and otherwise is considered a violation because temperatures varying between these two degrees is a dangerous indicator of food health.”
Regarding the categories of evaluation of restaurants and food establishments, Bashir said: “The categories are divided into four, namely A, B, C, D, and E. Our greatest focus is on restaurants that fall under categories C and D, and therefore we give them a maximum period of three weeks, in the event of a violation, and four if the violations are repeated.” Sometimes in Class D restaurants, the restaurant is closed, and if violations of Class E restaurants are repeated twice, the restaurants are closed immediately. He explained that “the number of Category B restaurants reached 936 restaurants for the current year, while the number of restaurants in the same category for last year reached 1,375 restaurants, and the number of Category C restaurants reached 3,388 restaurants, compared to 3,656 restaurants last year, while Categories D and E reached 201 restaurants, respectively.” And 220 restaurants, compared to 419 and 275 restaurants last year,” stressing that “fast food restaurants fall into categories B and C».
Regarding restaurant violations, Bashir explained, “The presence of employees who do not have health cards or expired cards came in first place this year, and in second place was the cleanliness of equipment and tools.” He added, “The presence of rodents and insects and the lack of insect control devices came in the third, and the lack of adherence to formal and sanitary uniforms came in the fourth, and in the fifth, the lack of means for washing hands and paper tissues.”
He continued, “In sixth place for violations was failure to record temperatures for cooling and heating devices, and in seventh place was the danger of cross-contamination, i.e. mixing of the area of vegetables and meat, despite the importance of separating each of them. Among the list of most frequent violations, in eighth place, was the presence of expired or spoiled food.” And its pollution.” He confirmed, “As for the ninth and tenth violations, respectively, they are thawing frozen food in an unhygienic manner, and the lack of contracts for pest control with companies approved by Dubai Municipality.” He added, “The sixth violation was repeated 203 times, or 8%, and the seventh violation was repeated 190 times, or 8%.” 7.7%, and the eighth, ninth, and tenth violations were repeated 150, 127, and 124 times. “Consequently.”
He pointed out “the importance of the last violation, although it recorded the lowest rate of 5% and the lowest number of repetitions, it is very important and the municipality is working to reduce it by making municipal inspectors a redoubled effort in combating all the aforementioned violations to ensure health safety.”
Bashir said, “The list of violations for restaurants and cafes shares several commonalities, and we do not exclude fast food restaurants from luxury restaurants, as the law applies to all restaurants. But fast food restaurants are made up of a chain linked all over the world and have specific specifications, but in the country they adhere to the state’s system and the health and hygiene systems followed.”
He pointed out, “There is a program that all restaurants must adhere to, especially in cleaning and sterilizing the kitchens, because there are areas in the kitchens for receiving and serving, and others for cooking, preparing, and washing, so each area must be separated from the other.”
He said, for example, “The meat area must be separated from the vegetable area,” noting that “kitchen cleanliness is one of the most common violations that can usually occur in restaurants.” Bashir added, “The level of cleanliness of the workers must be very high, and they must have professional health cards issued by the municipality, in addition to the importance of subjecting them to health tests to ensure the health of the food provided, and these cards must be renewed annually.”
Inspection system
The Acting Director of the Food Inspection Division in Dubai Municipality, Abdulaziz Bashir, said, “The municipality allocates inspection teams that work on a shift basis to ensure that all restaurants and food establishments have permits to practice the same activity and conform to the specifications set by the municipality, and that their workers apply health procedures, in accordance with controls.” And municipal requirements, and ensuring the quality of air conditioning devices to ensure the safety of the food provided.”
Regarding the inspection system followed in the municipality, Bashir said, “Municipality inspectors rely on the electronic inspection system, which contains data on all food establishments in terms of location and license, provides accuracy and ease, and reaches the direct official with complete ease.”
