Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — The Makkah Mayoralty has started the phase of mandatory implementation of the ‘Bilmeezan’ initiative, under which restaurants and kitchens in the holy city have to sell cooked meat and food by weight, and not by the number of persons. The phase of mandatory implementation of the initiative comes at the end of the three-month experimental and awareness phase.

The mayoralty stated that this initiative aims to set a specific standard for selling meat in kitchens and restaurants in Makkah, in terms of its weight instead of the quantity for a person (Nafar), which lacks any monitoring of weight and quantity. Through the initiative, the mayoralty wants to ensure a fair quantity of cooked meat and food to the customer as well as to enhance the trust between the seller and the buyer, apart from adding transparency and credibility between the customer and the seller.

Under this initiative, there must be an electronic weighing machine in each and every restaurant and kitchen as well as placing menu board showing the quality of meat and prices in front of consumers. The customers have to make the request by weight and quantity, and they have to be given more options without forcing them to an unknown quantity that may be mixed with bones or guts and so on.

The mayoralty started implementing the initiative during the past three months as an awareness and experimental phase for kitchen and restaurant owners, before starting the mandatory implementation phase. Owners of restaurants and kitchens have to make available a digital weighing machine that proves that the food is not short of the permissible limit. The menu board must specify the quality of meat and its source, and there should be another board showing details of the prices for each type and kind of meat.

The mayoralty said that fines will be slapped on those violating any provisions of the initiative. The minimum fine amounting to SR1000 will be slapped on those restaurants and kitchens in the event of violating one of the provisions of this initiative. The maximum fine will be SR10,000 in the event of repetition of the violation, or it may be referred to the committee to examine violations of the Food Law and its executive regulations.

The mayoralty has called upon the owners of kitchens, restaurants, or establishments that sell cooked meat to cooperate with it in implementing the initiative in a practical way that protects the rights of all by specifying the amount of cooked meat in grams instead of persons. The prices for the quantity and kinds of meat shall be displayed on the menu board. The buyer may check the weight of the quantity he wishes to purchase at the time, taking into account that this procedure will not affect the prevailing price in the market.

The mayoralty called on all citizens, expatriates, and visitors to inform it about kitchens and restaurants that fail to use the weighing machine in selling cooked meat by calling the unified communications number 940 or using the mayoralty’s communication means to receive inquiries, notes, and suggestions related to this initiative.