CSOs rally to speed up the formation of ‘Lebanese Committee for Food Safety’

In its first move, and under the slogan ‘Together for the formation of the Lebanese Committee for Food Safety’, the Legal Agenda, Consumer Protection Society, Farah Al 3ata2 and Wa7hdatuna Khalasuna associations held a sit-in yesterday in front of the Grand Serail during the meeting of the Cabinet. At the start of the protest, attended by some 262 civil groups under the umbrella of the Civil Alliance for Food Safety, the security forces prevented demonstrators from blocking the way of the ministers’ cars. This led to the closure of the road and change in the course of the convoy. Later, the Alliance handed the council of ministers general director a copy of the judicial report which contains the results of laboratory tests of flour samples. The results, it should be noted, have indicated the presence of 2050 defects in every 50 grams, which is inconsistent with the internationally-approved specifications. During the sit-in, Zuheir Berro, head of the Consumer Society, warned that the situation has reached an unprecedented level in corruption, mentioning the pollution of the Litani river and the Qar3un lake, added to the garbage and mills of Lebanon corruption files. Berro pledged to keep to the streets every time the Cabinet convenes until after the government fulfills its obligations. 

As for the latest in the government’s food safety campaign, health ministry inspectors shut down yesterday a number of commercial institutions and shops in Saida, Kfarmilki, Dhur Chweir, Zahleh, Aley, Nabatiyeh, Khirbit Silm, Dikwaneh, Furn al Chebak, Burj al Barajneh and the Airport Road. For the names of the closed establishments, kindly visit the following link: http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=711064  (Al Akhbar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, July 22, 2016)