80 per cent of restaurants in Muscat pass visitors’ satisfaction test

Muscat: The level of satisfaction among customers with regard to restaurants exceeded 80 per cent in 2017 in the Muscat Governorate, according to the Muscat Municipality.
That came after an assessment conducted by specialists at the Muscat Municipality, which covered at least 840 restaurants and coffee shops. Customers were satisfied with 671 restaurants and coffee shops, while the other 169 were at an acceptable level.
The municipality said, “The evaluation also addressed restaurants with unacceptable results and gave them time to improve their situation, with a re-evaluation after the deadline, and the number was reduced to only 48 restaurants.”
Qais bin Sulaiman Al Kushari, Director-General of Health Affairs at Muscat Municipality, said, “All measures are being taken in order to ensure full compliance with the health requirements.”
He stressed the role of the Directorate to supervise the sectors related to food control, such as the Central Municipality Laboratory, the Central Market for Vegetables and Fruits, and the Health Inspection Office at the Muscat International Airport.
The Director-General of Health Affairs at Muscat Municipality mentioned some of the challenges facing this sector, including the poor health standards of some restaurants.
“In order to facilitate the work of the sector, the Municipality, represented by the General Directorate of Health Affairs, provided a number of facilities, including the inspection bag, which includes a number of devices including a measuring device for oil, temperature measuring and electronic link of irregularities,” he added.
Moreover, the General Directorate of the Muscat Municipality carried out intensive inspection campaigns at various food establishments. The weekly campaigns focus on shops that require constant monitoring and follow-ups, such as laundry shops, bakeries, nuts shops, barber shops, juice shops and ice cream shops.
The total number of shops inspected until the end of November 2018 was 474. Of these, 36 shops were fined, while only one shop was shut down.
Some 70 kg of cooked materials were destroyed, while 160 kg of tools used while cooking were confiscated.
The department conducted more than 100 inspection visits within just four days to a number of shops and activities related to health and food delivery. Some 31 of them were fined in accordance with the provisions of local order No. 1/2006 on the prevention of public health.