The Economic Department in the North continued its oversight tours on a number of commercial and food sectors in Tripoli, Akkar, Dinniyeh, Koura, Batroun, and Zgharta, which resulted in issuing arrest reports against the owners of generators, fuel stations, and gas filling centers, in addition to food violations revealed by laboratory analyses.
The authority announced, in a statement, that its observers visited the owners of electric generators in the cities of Tripoli and Akkar, and in the towns of Bakhoun in Dinniyeh and Dahr al-Ain in Koura, to ensure their compliance with the approved official pricing.
The tours resulted in the issuance of two arrest reports against two generator owners in Bakhoun and Dahr al-Ain, after it was found that they did not adhere to the official pricing.
The control also included shops selling Arabic ice cream in Batroun and Zgharta, where 3 samples were taken, including two samples of Arabic ice cream and a sample of lemonade, and sealed with red wax before sending them to the laboratory to conduct the necessary analyzes and ensure their compliance with Lebanese standard specifications.
After the issuance of results that showed that the samples did not conform to the specifications from a bacterial standpoint, the authority organized 3 arrest reports against the owners of the concerned shops.
In Najma Square in Tripoli, the tours included herbal shops, where 3 samples of the “seven spices” were taken, sealed with red wax and sent to the laboratory to conduct the necessary tests.
The results showed that one of the samples contained the substance “aflatoxin,” which prompted the authority to organize an arrest report against its owner and stop the circulation of this type of spice.
Two written warnings were also sent to a number of shop owners, and they were asked to improve storage conditions and adhere to public safety requirements, to prevent exposing the products to damage or contamination.
The inspection tours extended to gas stations and gas filling centers in Tripoli and Zgharta, and resulted in the organization of two arrest reports against a gas station in the Muharram area – Tripoli, and a gas filling center in Abu Samra, for violating the official pricing issued by the Ministry of Energy and Water.
These tours come within the framework of tightening control over the compliance of generator and fuel station owners with official prices, in parallel with monitoring the safety of food products offered in the markets, especially items that may be affected by poor storage or non-compliance with health conditions.
