The officials from the Jeddah municipality’s commercial licensing and monitoring department conducted inspections in several neighborhoods north and south of Jeddah.
They gave 682 shops warnings, which means the traders have a certain period of time to comply with regulations.
The inspections targeted businesses that sell food in one capacity or another, including shops, hotels, restaurants, factories, supermarkets, cafeterias and warehouses.
Head of the Commercial Licensing and Monitoring Department Basheer Abu Najm said the inspections form part of the Jeddah municipality’s efforts to protect the consumer and ensure that all food products sold are in good condition and free of disease.
He said part of their remit is to make sure that these shops are meeting standards regarding public health and also that warehouses are free of pollutants.
He said some of the violations that traders committed included workers not holding the correct health certificates, dirty places, employees not wearing the correct uniform and unhygienic storage of food.
“Our officials are conducting round-the-clock inspections on these shops to make sure that consumers are protected from fraud and bad food,” said Abu Najm.
He said that municipality officials were conducting surprise inspections to ensure persistent violators were rooted out.