Social media has not only changed traditional relationships between individuals, but it has also given rise to people who trade in people’s health, especially food vendors. With the advent of the month of Ramadan, food sellers on apps like Instagram and WhatsApp have increased, and prices are high.
I am wondering why there is no crackdown on those women and why they are being excluded from the municipality’s supervision regarding the conditions and standards of hygiene and safety, just like those that apply to restaurants and other food merchants. Why don’t they keep business records? I am also wondering why there are no price controls, and no medical examination of workers. There has to be a round of inspections by the municipality, as is the case for restaurants, cafeterias and others. It is a big mess and the municipality and the interior ministry – represented by the cybercrimes department – have to get involved.
If there are cases of food poisoning or filthy and expired foodstuff at registered restaurants, there are certain procedures to be followed. Every other day we hear about a restaurant that is closed for non-compliance with sanitary standards. But there has been an abnormal rise in online food sellers of all nationalities in the country, so how will consumer protection be enforced and how to guarantee that someone is checking the food supply and prices? So far, no one is doing anything for protecting the consumer. A whole family can suffer poisoning from contaminated food.
There is neither municipality supervision nor commerce or health ministry tours of these home kitchens. The cybercrime unit should also intervene because of the risk to people’s health, as the preservation of public health is one of the most basic duties of the state, regardless of the government agency responsible.
Saudi Arabia has succeeded in resolving this matter. Those who want to set up such business ventures there need to have official registration, and those who violate this law are fined. This is one of the simplest things to maintain the health of the people from the risk of exposure to food poisoning or consuming expired items. The ministry of interior has the ability to identify these accounts and force their owners to register. Instagram cooks are becoming a trend that is out of control, putting people’s health at risk.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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