Amman residents, merchants urged to store food properly in hot weather

AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Wednesday called on the public and merchants to take precautionary measures when storing food amidst rising temperatures.

During the recent heatwave that hit the Kingdom, a total of 18 tonnes of foodstuff were destroyed in Amman, 23 tonnes were seized, and 87 warnings and 200 violation tickets were issued, Mervat Mheirat, director of GAM’s health supervision department, said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

GAM also dealt with 22 public health complaints, according to the statement.

Mheirat urged consumers to check the quality of food before buying it and transport it quickly to their homes to avoid prolonged heat exposure which may spoil it and cause food poisoning.

She also called on merchants to store food items properly to protect them from high temperatures.

The GAM official said municipality teams are always ready to receive public complaints, and can contact the following numbers 06-4918791, 06-53599710 or 06-5359970.

During a heatwave that affected the Kingdom earlier this month, temperatures soared to 42°C in Amman.

The load on the national power grid reached “an unprecedented” 3,300 megawatts during the hot spell, and several incidents of power outages were reported.

The Jordan Food and Drug Administration's inspection teams checked shops and food outlets in the areas that witnessed power cuts, seizing and destroying 28 tonnes of spoiled foodstuff.