Health Ministry Inspectors Assaulted during Raid on Musharrafieh Food Warehouse

Inspectors from the Health Ministry were assaulted on Tuesday while they were raiding a warehouse in a district in Beirut's southern suburbs, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the inspectors were seeking to shut down the depot for storing food that does not meet safety standards.

A statement from Health Minister Wael Abou Faour's office stressed that the officials will carry ahead with their mission and shut down the facility, located in the Musharrafieh area, in spite of the harassment.

The minister later told LBCI television that he gave orders to Health Ministry inspectors to continue their jobs in clamping down on food safety violators.

“I will even head down to Musharrafieh myself to ensure that the warehouse is closed,” he added.

Earlier the minister had urged the General Prosecution to open the file on medical errors given the flood of complaints the ministry had been receiving in such cases.

He hoped in his statement that the issue would be proposed before the Order of Physicians in order for the proper disciplinary and legal measures be taken against violators.

Abou Faour hoped that his suggestion would be taken seriously seeing as “the Order has not been taking any measures against violators in spite the growing number of fatal medical errors.”

The minister had kicked off in October a food safety campaign aimed at cracking down on violators and improving health standards in Lebanon.

A number of restaurants, slaughterhouses, and warehouses have been shut down due to their violations, while others have sought to meet the ministry's conditions.

Several doctors and nurses have been suspended for committing violations.

Earlier on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb ordered the closure of a spice and herb factory in the town of Aramoun in Aley for violating health standards, said NNA.

Inspectors from his ministry had searched the facility where they recorded such violations as the lack of screens on windows, which allow rodents and insects to enter the building.

The factory produces spices, herbal tea, thyme, and sesame.

The inspectors noted in their report the lack of toilets and sinks for the employees, as well as leakage of sewage from the pipe system through the ceiling of the factory.

The products meanwhile have faulty production and expiry date and manufacturer labels.

Cars were found parked inside the factory in a violation of health standards, while wheels were also placed on spice sacs.

The tools used in the manufacturing of the products were found to be unhygienic, continued the report.

Samples of the products at the factory have since been taken for testing.

In Beirut meanwhile, Shehayeb tasked a team of veterinarians to inspect two slaughterhouses in the Karantina region at the entrance of the Beirut abattoir that was shut by the Health Ministry last year.

The team said that the slaughterhouses do not meet technical and hygienic standards.

In addition, it noted that the some of the meat was packed without proper labeling.

Shehayeb has since ordered that a report be compiled over the findings at the two slaughterhouses in order to refer it to Abou Faour, said NNA.

Later on Tuesday, LBCI television reported that Health Ministry inspectors shut an oil company in Beirut's Tariq al-Jedideh neighborhood for failing to meet health standards.

The inspectors raided the Munthir Mneimneh company for manufacturing olive oil, pickled vegetables, and molasses, finding the products “in very very poor conditions.”

Samples of the products were taken for lab testing.

M.T.

G.K.