The city of Baalbek witnessed a field tour of the butcher shops in the Baalbek commercial market to verify food safety procedures. This tour included the head of the health department in Baalbek-Hermel governorate, Dr. Ali Hazimeh, the butchers' syndicate president in the Beqaa, Ali Sobhi Awada, and the health inspector in the Baalbek municipality, Mohamed Louqis.
During the tour, Awada praised the butchers' commitment to internal cleanliness standards in the shops and their dedication to keeping the meats in designated refrigerators, as well as using grinding machines, sickles, and knives that meet health specifications during meat cutting. He stated, "We provide the cleanest and purest, and we supervise ourselves, guaranteed by our religion, values, and ethics. Anyone who acts otherwise is an outsider and rejected."
He noted the butchers of Baalbek and the surrounding area for maintaining the quality of the meats offered to customers, which the region is known for, and for not using frozen meats, except for one case that occurred recently, where the shop was required to announce the presence of frozen meat to distinguish it from fresh meat.
For his part, Hazimeh praised the cooperation of the butchers, emphasizing the necessity of having the slaughterhouse stamp clearly visible on the carcasses, with mandatory disclosure if the shop sells chilled or frozen meats, clearly communicated to customers, and that chilled or frozen meats should not be mixed with fresh meats. He also stressed the need to obtain health cards for all workers in the butcher shops and to adhere to food safety conditions.
