"A British chef at a restaurant in the Emirates Palace hotel is appealing his sentence for storing a container of expired yoghurt: a Dh92,000 (US$27,000) fine.
Inspectors from Abu Dhabi Municipality found the yoghurt during a routine visit to the kitchen of the Etoiles restaurant and lounge about a month ago.
[...]
His attorney said the food was only one day past its use-by date; court documents do not specify when the food expired. Yesterday PH pleaded with the judge to have the fine overturned."
Article here (thenational.ae)
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16 comments:
What can go wrong if someone accidentally ate that expired yoggurt of a day old? I can only think of stomach upset ? 92,000aed is too much..moreover nobody eat it! Imagine if it's a small coy and not some big restaurant in Emirates palace! Totally not justifiable..
Actually I have crohn's and I can be hospitalized for a week if I eat expired dairy. Last time it was 6 days in the hospital and 23K worth of bills.
So alot can happen. Not probable, but possible.
This is very good news. The amount is a joke, it should be more like 5K. especially if it's the 1st offense. enough to make people take things seriously but not enough to break the bank.
Mind you, with the image and prices at Emirates Palace hotel, you'd expect them to be on their toes.
About a week ago a few restaurants in Abu Dhabi were closed for 3 days and fined a few Ks as well. I'm glad to see they are getting better at this.
I imagine expiry dates are set a little earlier than actual to have a bit of buffer zone, same for off the counter medicines...so it seems a bit excessive for yoghurt one day past the printed expiry date ?
I'm sure the chef/hotel can afford the fine, but I have a feeling these kinds of punishments are at best symbolic and a one-time thing, lets hope not. Can't help but wonder if the smaller dives get the same kind of attention, I mean is this really about health or is it about preserving the image of posh establishments and Dubai in general. Having said that, even the worst run half assed hotel management should be worrying about this themselves and not leave it to the government to wipe their asses for them.
Absolutely Pathetic.
Actual chefs (not cooks in local restaurants) are trained formally and with experience to know the difference between a good product and an off product.
The storage of these products is far far more important than the serve by dates, and just because a product may be past a suggested serve by date does not in anyway mean that the product is off.
This chef should be issued a formal apology by the Abu Dhabi Municipality.
Anonymous said...
Absolutely Pathetic.
Actual chefs (not cooks in local restaurants) are trained formally and with experience to know the difference between a good product and an off product.
The storage of these products is far far more important than the serve by dates, and just because a product may be past a suggested serve by date does not in anyway mean that the product is off.
This chef should be issued a formal apology by the Abu Dhabi Municipality.
The LAW is very clear cut, you cannot have in your establishment anything that 1. does not have an expiration date, 2. is past said date.
When you open up shop here, are agree to abide by these laws. Simple.
bit curious, why is it the chef getting the fine and not the hotel? And the "criminal court" for an expired yoghurt? seriously?
maybe the expiry date was written in arabic... what if the chef could not read the label?
yeah he should be given a 920000 dh fine, this is a tad too small for my fine tastes mateys
i actually had a bad day in the loo last week because of people like him i was leakin like a leaky faucet without a stopper
this blokes gotta be kicked in the nuts i say
I don't know if the amount is fair or not.. or if the whole thing is just blown out of proportion. I just wanted to comment on the 'criminal' aspect of things. In the UAE, it seems, if you take a piss the wrong way it's criminal. You take one more breath than you need and it's a criminal offense. The legal system here is seriously in need of a make-over.
Having spent a year in criminal courts over bullshit to finally be vindicated, I find it hard to believe that no one has actually thought.. hey, let's build a metro AND update our legal system to handle today's modern problems.
Their country, their business.
when people do not know the difference between cut-throat expiry and best-before dates, i call that stupidity.
Anonymous said...
maybe the expiry date was written in arabic... what if the chef could not read the label?
United ARAB Emirates. Learn how to read.
No, most labels say EX. 12/12/12
So unless he though EX meant example, I dont see it. And I think the chef shouldnt have to pay it, Im not sure what legal arrangement the place has with the hotel, but I'd assume the place is owned by the hotel, in that case let the super upscale hotel pay. even if they werent fined, having it known that they arent as "posh" as they claim is enough.
He should be jailed. The fine is just 25k USD, its nothing.
Someone else said it before me, but it's worth repeating, Banana Republic
Anonymous said...
maybe the expiry date was written in arabic... what if the chef could not read the label?
I meant hindu numerals.. these: ١٠ ٢٣ ٥ ٩
what was the fine for the death caused by a guy plowing into a woman on the sidwalk of the Sheik Zayid Road ?
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