Almost 100 Dubai food outlets closed for breaking hygiene rules

Inspectors find insects and other breaches of law

To date, there are over half a million tagged shawarma images on Instagram. Getty Images

Almost 100 Dubai food outlets have been closed this year for failing to follow hygiene rules, including some for having insects crawling around their premises.

Dubai Municipality said 94 restaurants and cafes were given temporary closure orders between January and June.

The announcement on Thursday came after a crackdown in recent months and last year on shawarma vendors and shisha cafes, particularly in residential areas.

Overall, it said the level of hygiene seen by inspectors was very good, with more than 1,400 outlets given gold or excellent ratings.

“These food establishments were given a short period of time to modify their status and clear all the violations related to hygiene and unhealthy practices, expired foodstuffs, and the presence of spoiled foods,” said Sultan Al Taher, head of the food inspection section at Dubai Municipality.

“At the same time, 1,409 food establishments in Dubai received Excellent and Gold rating during the first half of 2017."

More than 15,600 inspections have been carried out this year, meaning many were repeatedly visited to ensure their standards had not slipped.

"We do not close outlets that are not dangerous or that have not committed violations that directly affect consumers," he said.

He added that 585 establishments received an acceptable rating during the first half of this year and 82 were evaluated weak.