Serving peace of mind

When Lebanon’s health ministry last year embarked on a proactive national food safety campaign, it disrupted industries that by all indications had been complacent for far too long. Inspections of establishments in all parts of the citizens’ food supply chain revealed practices ranging from bad to repulsive to outright criminal — such as unsafe storage of perishables, non separation of waste bins from food preparation areas, and sale of spoilt foods.  Whether such violations of both official standards and common sense are concentrated in specific segments of the food industry, and whether the longstanding laxness of supervision caused the entrenchment of potentially disastrous practices in food sector establishments, are questions that cannot be answered conclusively at this point.  It also has yet to emerge whether the personal crusading of Minister of Health Wael Abu Faour, laudable as the act is, can be solidified into a regulatory and supervisory presence that will