RAK bakery shut over black bread

Thursday, Jan 07, 2010

Gulf News

Ras Al Khaimah The Environmental and Public Health Department at the RAK Municipality yesterday shut down a bakery in Julphar for two days and imposed a fine of Dh1,500 on its Emirati owner as a result of a complaint about a packet of bread covered in black powder.

A senior municipal official said that the bakery has endangered the public health and that could not be tolerated. The official stressed that the closure of the bakery was a result of the failure to stick to hygiene standards.

The official said that the black powder found in the bread packet can be extremely harmful to health and that the Municipality does not have room for leniency when it comes to public health.

An Emirati bought a packet of bread for Dh15 from the bakery to prepare food for his workers. Once the packet was purchased from the bakery, he took it to the emirate's Municipality and lodged a complaint which the municipal inspectors investigated.

They visited the bakery and then confirmed that the complaint was genuine.

Fine settled

The official said the municipality was not satisfied with a fine only, so ordered the temporary closure of the bakery to force the owner and his staff to adhere to hygiene standards.

The owner of the bakery settled the fine instantly and complained that the closure of his bakery was not fair, as the bread had not been sent to a laboratory for examination.

The Emirati owner of the bakery said that the bread that his bakery produces was in good shape and claimed that the authorities can't prove it was rotten and unfit for human consumption.

The owner explained that all the RAK-based bakeries use diesel in their work, and that diesel can easily cause a black colour on the bread, which could be the only mistake of the staff in his bakery.

He stressed that the staff of the bakery should have removed the black bread before the packet was passed to the customer.

Meanwhile, the Emirati customer who purchased the bread, demanded his Dh15 be returned from the bakery.

By Nasouh Nazzal