AMMAN - Some 40 employees from shawerma eateries across the capital will enrol in a Jordan Food and Drug Association (JFDA) training programme next week in order to become certified health supervisors, a JFDA official said on Monday.
The trainees will become accredited health supervisors and be responsible for ensuring all employees abide by hygiene standards, JFDA acting Director Fathi Saleh told The Jordan Times.
"They will undergo a three-day training course, which was prepared by heath experts, on ensuring adherence to food safety and hygiene standards," he added.
The training will cost JD60 per participant and restaurant owners will bear the expense, Saleh said, adding that the fee will cover course lectures and materials in addition to light meals and coffee breaks.
In-house health supervisors became an essential requirement for shawerma restaurants under new health regulations issued by the JFDA last October in the wake of several food poisoning incidents linked to outlets serving the sandwich.
Last year, the government imposed a ban on chicken shawerma sales across the Kingdom when hundreds of people were diagnosed with food poisoning after consuming the sandwiches from a restaurant in the Baqaa refugee camp.
As a result, the JFDA introduced new terms and conditions for shawerma outlets to resume sales, including a self-check programme and assigned health supervisors.
Under the new regulations, shawerma outlets cannot renew their licences unless they adhere to the programme.
The regulations also include certain specifications for shawerma skewers, the diameter and weight of chicken meat, as well as the size of the outlet, the proper tools and utensils for handling food and thermometers to observe and control temperatures for cooking and storing.
Saleh expected similar training programmes in the northern and southern governorates to start next month.
By Hani Hazaimeh
© Jordan Times 2008
