354 food shops shut down for ignoring plastic ban

[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="354 food shops shut down for ignoring plastic ban" ids="123421,123422,123423,123424"] By Fatima Muhammad JEDDAH — Municipality inspectors in Jeddah closed down 354 shops for violating a new decision that banned the use of plastic bags and containers to store foods. The inspectors toured around 716 shops in different neighborhoods and said they will continue the rounds on a daily basis to ensure that all shops are abiding by the regulations. Nasir Al-Mutib, assistant to the Jeddah mayor, said they had warned all the shops previously and directed them not to use plastic containers to store warm food like bread, rice, chicken and foul. He added that shops were allowed to substitute plastic bags and containers with paper and aluminum foil containers. The bakeries, he said, are allowed to pack bread in plastic bags only when it has cooled down. The municipality took the move to make food packaging environment-friendly and also to protect the health of consumers.