Whenever we visit a restaurant, we assume the place and the food they serve to be clean and hygienic. If not as good as our own home, at least we trust that they follow the best practices to make our visit comfortable. Even if we still have some doubts in the back of our head, we would never imagine our food being prepared in the toilet, and not in the kitchen of the restaurant.
The video of an utterly horrifying practice at an eatery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, shows how a nightmare can come true. Believe it or not, the restaurant has been preparing samosas and other snacks in its toilet for the past 30 long years! Yes, you read that right. Thankfully, the restaurant has been asked to shut its operations by Jeddah’s authorities. The news, however, has spread like wildfire on the internet, shocking netizens.
According to reports, the Jeddah Municipality received a tip-off about the unethical practices of the restaurant that’s been making snacks in an “unhygienic condition” for the past three decades. The restaurant had been running from a residential building and hence the authorities raided it only to find out more unsanitary conditions.
According to the Gulf News report, the authorities also discovered that some of the ingredients, like cheese, had passed their expiry date. They also spotted insects and rodents crawling at the site. It was further revealed that the workers had no health cards and were also violating residency laws. The restaurant has now been sealed off and tonnes of food have been destroyed. This is not the first time the Jeddah Municipality ordered a restaurant to close down. Earlier this year, a video clip showing a rat sitting atop a shawarma skewer at a restaurant was circulated on social media, and the municipality acted swiftly to shut down the famous restaurant.
Closer home, we have seen many such instances in India as well, when state authorities took the bold decision of shutting down eateries due to misconduct. An upscale restaurant in Delhi recently closed down because it refused entry to a saree-clad woman, and the internet applauded the move.
While such instances of unethical actions by restaurants may temporarily deter our faith in the restaurant industry, it is always a relief to know that the authorities are keeping a close check.
What do you have to say about the incident? Let us know.
