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Alcohol in Dubai restaurant dishes back on the menu
The Dubai municipality has retracted a decision to ban restaurants from using alcohol in the preparation of dishes, The National daily reported on Tuesday.The confusion was a result of a "misunderstanding", municipality officials said, claiming that restaurateurs misinterpreted a circular sent to them. The liberal Gulf emirate had announced on Sunday it would enforce a 2003 law banning alcohol in food preparation, based on complaints from Muslim clients who were not warned that dishes in some restaurants contained alcohol. Khaled Sharif al-Awadhi, director of Dubai municipality's food control department, said food containing alcohol could be served on condition it was segregated from other food and clearly labeled, The National reported. "We have found violations where hotels are not clearly stating alcohol content in their food," it quoted him as saying. Awadhi added that alcohol should be handled like other "non-halal products" such as pork. The newspaper said chefs in Dubai, where restaurants in hotels with a license are allowed to serve alcohol, had approached the municipality asking for a review of the decision, which they said threatened their industry. The National said that a municipality circular sent to all hotels clearly stated that food in alcohol would be strictly prohibited. "Use of alcohol in preparation and cooking of food is strictly prohibited. Display and sale of food products containing alcohol as an ingredient is strictly prohibited," said the circular according to the English-language daily. Ahmed Al-Ali, the head of food inspections was quoted by the paper on Sunday that alcohol in food would not be allowed even if clearly labeled. Al-Awadhi said the circular was misunderstood by restaurateurs. "It's a misunderstanding. The memo meant to say that alcohol content in food should be clearly stated and also kept separately," he said. The municipality will meet with chefs from leading hotels later this week to communicate the regulation and clear the confusion. Posted by: Fred 2010-03-24 |
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