RIYADH — Officials from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) have detected violations of 996 establishments during inspection tours carried out during the last two months of April and May. The authority officials conducted 5,912 monitoring and investigation tours, resulting in the seizure of 996 erring establishments out of 4,307 establishments that covered inspections in various regions across the Kingdom. The inspection tours also resulted in the closure of 136 establishments for not obtaining the necessary licenses and for violations affecting product safety. In addition, 127 production lines were suspended and 1,750 types of products were seized and impounded. This comes as part of the authority's efforts to verify the compliance of establishments subject to its supervision with approved regulations and to achieve the highest levels of quality for products circulating in the markets. During these tours, the authority's inspection teams were able to seize violations of a food establishment where raw materials of unknown origin were found. It was also found that a number of workers were employed without health certificates that necessitated the closure of the facility by the authority and the adoption of necessary punitive measures. Several unlicensed warehouses were seized for illegally storing expired medical products, in conditions that violated transportation and storage requirements for medical products. A total of 313,789 products were immediately seized, and regulatory measures were completed against the violators to ensure consumer protection from unsafe products. The authority officials also seized a food factory that had committed several violations, including failure to obtain a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) quality certificate, the accumulation of meat in raw material freezers, and signs of spoilage on some aged meat. In addition, the external production date did not match the production date on the product, and there was a noticeable decline in hygiene within the facility. Furthermore, some workers did not have health certificates. The inspection teams seized 2,000 kilograms of food products unfit for consumption. The authority is completing regulatory measures against the factory. During joint inspection tours, carried out along with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), the SFDA teams detected a number of violations on the part of a factory under construction. The most notable violations included the lack of a license from the SFDA, a complete lack of food safety regulations, manufacturing practices and production lines that violate food production requirements, and several violations affecting safety and quality. This prompted the closure of the factory and production lines, the precautionary recall of products pending analysis results to ensure their safety, and the adoption of legal action against the erring factory. The authority emphasized the need for facilities subject to its supervision to adhere to approved regulations and systems. It called for reporting any violations through contacting the unified number 19999.
