UAE seeks shawarma karma

A man carves shawarma to serve at a restaurant.(AFP)

DUBAI: UAE standards chiefs have taken aim at the region’s fast food favorite — banishing the common practice of making and selling the sandwiches outside shops.
The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) has updated the requirements for the processing and handling of shawarma sandwiches.
“The new mandatory requirements also prohibit the practice of roasting and selling outside the limits of the shop, in order to protect the food from external pollutants and sources of dust and pollution,” said Khalaf Khalaf, director of the Standards Department of ESMA.
It comes weeks after kebabs came under scrutiny by European lawmakers.
The new rules aim to prevent the exposure of these food products to pollution as being perishable, and to protect the community from the risk of exposure to unsafe food, state news agency WAM reported.
Workers handling the meat should “have a valid health certificate, be free from infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, wounds and ulcers, and adhere to the rules of hygiene during working hours such as washing hands with soap and water,” ESMA said.