Raids unearth spoiled food in Nabatieh, Tyre

Authorities have continued their crackdown on spoiled food as the National Labor Confederation called on the economy minister to resign. Two patrols from the Economy Ministry’s Consumer Protection Office raided a store in Sidon and seized a quantity of expired food. The patrols also took samples from large quantities of frozen fish and meat, which they suspected were spoiled as they had handwritten expiration dates. Elsewhere, over 25 kilograms of different kinds of frozen fish were found in a dumpster in Hay al-Marj between the two villages of Nabatieh Fawqa and Mayfadoun in the qada of Nabatieh. Authorities also found three boxes of expired cheese. Police arrived at the scene to examine the food and informed the health department in Nabatieh. Meanwhile, the governor of the Bekaa, Antoine Suleiman, chaired a meeting of security officials in the Bekaa Tuesday. Suleiman stressed the need “to follow up on the issue of spoiled food items found in the market and going after those who sell them.” The mayor of the Tyre town of Burj al-Shemali, Ali Dib, announced that the municipality’s health committee carried out a wide-scale inspection of stores, butchers and bakeries, where they discovered spoiled frozen meat, canned foods, cheese and milk. “In butchers and bakeries, the committee noticed some neglect and lack of hygiene and issued warnings to the owners to take necessary action within one week,” Dib said, adding that stores which continue to sell spoiled food goods will be closed by the authorities. Meanwhile, the National Labor Confederation’s executive office held a meeting Tuesday and issued a statement accusing the Economy Ministry of neglect in guaranteeing food safety. The statement called on Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas “to assume responsibility and submit his resignation after this failure.”