Army Seizes Israeli-Made Food Products in Tariq al-Jedideh Warehouses
The Lebanese army announced in a statement on Friday that it raided a two warehouses in the Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jedideh where it uncovered some five tons of spoiled food.
It also uncovered Israeli-made products whose source of manufacture was covered up.
Three individuals suspected of being linked to the facility have been arrested, it stated.
The raid, carried out in collaboration with the Consumer Protection Directorate, uncovered five tons of weight loss products, large quantities of baby milk that has been imported from abroad, and various Lebanese-made products, such as oils and vinegars.
The statement noted that all the discovered foodstuff had exceeded their expiry date.
The army also seized a machine used for forging expiry dates.
Voice of Lebanon radio later reported that a third warehouse, belonging to the same suspects, was also discovered in Tariq al-Jedideh.
This one contained 40 tons of milk and spoiled food products.
Later on Friday, a large quantity of spoiled poultry was found dumped in a garbage dumpster in al-Dekwaneh area.
The head of the Dekwaneh municipality Antoine Shakhtoura told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the concerned sides have arrested whoever threw the spoiled food, revealing that he is the owner of a restaurant in the area.
He said that a “sizeable” amount of poultry was discovered, demanding that the restaurant be shut down.
These are the latest incidents in the spoiled food scandal that has emerged in Lebanon in recent weeks that has caused a “food safety” crisis in the country.
The Consumer Protection Directorate raided several warehouses in al-Fanar, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Tyre, and Marjayoun that were selling spoiled meat and food products.
The seized products included poultry, meat, canned food, cheese and several other consumer products.
The Directorate had raided another Tariq al-Jadideh warehouse last week where it seized 25 tons of spoiled meat and arrested its two owners, Samih and Suleiman al-Natour.
The Internal Security Forces detained at least eight other people for food safety violations in separate raids.
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