GAM teams inspecting sweets shops as Eid nears

AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Monday began intensifying its inspection campaigns on sweets shops with the approach of Eid Al Fitr holiday.  

Mervat Mheirat, director of GAM’s health supervision department, said the municipality’s teams focus on warehouses that store dates and the essential ingredients of traditional sweets served during the Eid, the Muslim feast marking the end of Ramadan. 

During the last days of the fasting month, consumer demand for sweets such as mamoul soars significantly.

Mamoul, a sweet cake stuffed with date paste or nuts, is traditionally offered with coffee during Eid.

“We also look for vendors who display their goods under the heat of the sun on pavements,” Mheirat told The Jordan Times over the phone on Monday. 

She noted that municipality teams destroy the goods they seize from street vendors because they are unsuitable for human consumption. 

GAM said it has closed down 85 commercial establishments since the beginning of Ramadan because they did not meet health regulations. 

GAM teams also destroyed 21 tonnes of foodstuff deemed unsuitable for human consumption and 61 litres of juice sold by street vendors.

Municipality teams have also issued 950 tickets and 800 warnings to shopkeepers during Ramadan because they did not obtain a health certificate or abide by public safety procedures, according to Mheirat. 

GAM closed 65 stores after they displayed their goods on pavements and breached health regulations. 

Mheirat called on consumers not to buy sweets from street vendors for their own safety. 

“They can buy sweets from bakeries or licensed stores,” she added.