549,258 kg of meat and 16,660 trays of eggs confiscated in Doha

A shocking report in Gulf Times published today with the headline ‘Shifting of labourers’ lodgings from Doha proceeding as per plan’. I didn’t pay much attention to it till I glanced through the last few paragraphs. The law enforcement officers in-charge of health and hygiene conducted 23,340 rounds of inspections of eateries, hypermarkets, convenience stores  and juice stalls during the past year and as many as 1,719 cases of irregularities and non-compliance with health and hygiene regulations were recorded.

And during the past year, as much as 549,258 kg of meat and 16,660 trays of eggs were confiscated because they were found to be not fit for human consumption.

Just imagine 549,258 kg of meat and 16,660 trays of eggs!!! Not a small number to ignore. I wonder if there’s more to it and if it’s just a tip of the iceberg. We have to laud the efforts of officials in this regard. But god only knows how much is still on sale that slips through the net, how much are consumers taken for a ride, how much is still being consumed by many of us unknowingly?

Let me do a simple calculation: 23,340 raids in 52 weeks will be 448 inspections week. Then, 1,719 cases in 52 weeks will be 33 cases of irregularities and non-compliance with health and hygiene regulations per week. Conducting 448 inspections per week is not a joke and officials seem to be on high alert. Hereafter, we will also have to be on high alert while buying eggs and meat!