(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Health Minister Wael Abu Faour published a new list of meat slaughterhouses that have been violating food safety measures at a news conference on Wednesday.
The slaughterhouses will be permanently or temporarily closed, or at least given a warning with a deadline to improve their situation, according to the health minister.
“This is not an outburst, this is a permanent policy,” Abu Faour said in a news conference.
Abu Faour addressed the owners of the companies that violated the safety measures, asking them to get on the right path and not bid on his ministry’s “boredom or failure.” He also told them to not think of using political influence or to use any kind of force against the authorities.
“There is no chicken for March 14 and another for March 8, or a water pipeline for those and another for these,” he said, jokingly, about recent accusations against him over his “sudden” crackdown on food safety.
Abu Faour says Roadster Diner, Kababji, McDonald’s, Hawa Chicken, and Harkous Chicken, among others, announced they fixed safety measures and requested a second check.
Among supermarkets, TSC, Fahed Jounieh, Spinneys, Bou Khalil, Raouf Ghanem and Rammal had reportedly made efforts in the right direction.
Although the ministry has not yet examined the samples from all those shops, the primary results concerning storage, sanitation and hygiene measures showed very positive signs, the minister explained.