Lawmakers demand stiffer penalties

Members of the Lower House of Parliament on Monday called for tougher penalties against those who supply expired or contaminated foodstuffs and demanded a comprehensive investigation into a recent expired chicken case.
This comes days after authorities seized large quantities of expired chicken while being distributed in some southern governorates and in Amman as well. A number of people involved have been already arrested and referred to the attorney general for further investigations and legal action.
Members of the House’s Committee on Health and Environment said they were surprised that some companies and entities involved in the case aired threats of closing down their businesses and laying off employees in an apparent attempt of “arm-twisting” the government.
The lawmakers’ remarks came during a meeting they held with a number of ministers in the wake of the expired chicken case which triggered wide public uproar. The legislators demanded more rigorous and robust control of slaughterhouses, shops and eateries and said the names of those involved in the case should be disclosed to the public.
Yahia Soud, an Amman second constituency MP, said the issue “shouldn’t be blown out of proportion” because it might adversely affect tourism while Fawaz al-Zoubi, Irbid’s fourth constituency, said the case might be “an issue of settling scores” between major companies since it goes back to 6 months ago.
Other lawmakers held the government responsible for what happened citing lack of real control and demanded that relevant bodies should be held accountable for dereliction.
Director of the Food and Drug Administration, Hayel Obeidat, delivered a briefing about the case and said the administration seized and destroyed 21 tons of expired chicken in Karak and Ma’an and 3 tons in Amman. He noted that the administration ordered the closure of 1,400 stores and factories for various violations in the past 3 months in addition to confiscating and destroying 5,700 tons of foodstuffs found unfit for human consumption.
Source : Fana News