Amman, Apr. 16 (Petra) -Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) closed 45 violating food establishments for critical irregularities during the holy month of Ramadan and discontinued operations of 434 other entities, as part of 9,632 inspection tours carried out by its monitoring teams in 13 of its branches across the Kingdom’s various regions.

In a statement Tuesday, JFDA Director General, Dr. Nizar Mheidat, said the administration’s oversight and inspection staff destroyed, during their monitoring tours, more than 183 tonnes of food supplies that violated health requirements and were prepared in poor sanitary conditions.

Mheidat added that the JFDA’s workers also destroyed about 11,000 liters of liquid food supplies, about 29,000 liters of Ramadan beverages, and about 62.5 tonnes of food, adding that 1,943 liters of liquid materials circulated in the markets were seized and 677 foodstuff samples were taken for laboratory testing purposes.

Mheidat indicated that outcomes of the JFDA’s monitoring campaign recorded a “noticeable” increase in the number of tours by 27.7%, or 2,088 visits, compared to inspections carried out during the previous Ramadan.

However, he noted monitoring visits that resulted in closure of establishments for violations did not exceed 0.5% of the total inspections.

Additionally, Mheidat noted establishment closures went down by more than 43.75%, compared to last Ramadan, which reflects efficiency of JFDA’s “strict” inspection and monitoring efforts and market adherence to health requirements.
//Petra// AG

16/04/2024 16:18:34