“Samosas” Cooked in Toilet, Restaurant Closed Down in Jeddah

NEW DELHI, April 26: A restaurant in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia has been shut down after the local authorities found that it was preparing ‘samosas’ and other snacks in most unhygienic conditions in a toilet for the last 30 years or so.

The local media reports said the eatery was shut down recently but did not mention the owner of the restaurant and if there was any India connection with it. The report said the Jeddah Municipality raided the restaurant in a residential building after receiving a tip-off regarding the horrendous food culture followed by the eatery for almost three decades.

As per the report, the restaurant used to prepare snacks and also meals in washrooms. Additionally, the Jeddah Municipality officials found that the eatery used expired food articles like meat and cheese, some of which dated back two years. Insects and rodents were also spotted at the site. The workers from the 30-year-old restaurant had no health cards and were clearly violating the residency law, the officials noted. The eatery has now been shut down.

This was not the first time that a restaurant has been shut down in Saudi Arabia for unhygienic conditions. According to media reports, a famous Shawarma restaurant in Jeddah was also closed in January after a rat was spotted wandering around and feasting on meat on top of a skewer.

The Saudi officials, according to the report, had informed that it had carried out 2,833 inspection tours. The Municipality said the inspection campaigns resulted in detecting 43 violations, and shutting down 26 facilities.

(Manas Dasgupta)