FRIED COFFEE

The year 2009 so far:

* 4,600 Cases of food borne illness, approx.

* 65   Food outlets shut down.

* 60  Cases of food poisoning .

* 40 Cases involved take-out

* 4    Deaths, ages 8, 5, 4,  and 2

Praveen Menon, reporting for The National, brings the seriousness of sanitation in food service to the fore in this article.

“Inspectors who visited the outlets found food being served uncooked, food left out at room temperature, untrained managers and staff, and poor personal hygiene, including workers failing to wash their hands.

The offenders included cafes, restaurants, canteens and grocery stores.”

DUBAI // Sixty-five food outlets were shut down by Dubai Municipality in the first half of the year because of food safety violations, officials said yesterday.