BEIRUT: Officers with the Health Ministry seized 2 tons of fish that was either rotten or past its consumption date in a warehouse in the Beirut suburb of Bir Hasan, a security source said.
The midday bust was part of an ongoing food safety campaign launched by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour.
Meanwhile, a similar surprise inspection of a food manufacturing plant in the Bekaa Valley town of Rawdah found food not fit for consumption.
Among the products were 2.5 tons of sugar and 4,500 lemon juice bottles with no production or expiration dates and 1,600 liters of ketchup that violated food safety standards.
Rusted hummus and fava bean cans were also found without expiration dates.
The raids came as Health Minister Wael Abu Faour called on Economy Minister Alain Hakim Friday to instruct relevant parties to “strictly monitor” imported spices.
In a statement released by his media office, Abu Faour called for the “extensive testing” of imported spices in an effort to confirm their compliance with food safety standards.
Earlier this week, the health minister said that he had discovered the world of contaminated spices, naming several mills he said were selling unsafe spices.
