Riyadh is known for caring about health standards, whether it's with food, medicine or even something as simple as cosmetics.
A total of 112 health violations were reported on March 1 in Riyadh's Rawdah region, where several products were confiscated because they were no longer fit for human consumption. Thirty perfumes, 72 kilograms of food, 23 pharmaceutical items and 177 varieties of food were pulled from the market.
Abdullah Al-Tayyar, head of the Rawdah municipality in Riyadh, said that the violations were reported over two weeks ago. Three shops closed down, 38 warnings were issued and seven workers were booked for several offenses.
But, this wasn't the first time something like this happens. Several weeks ago, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry confiscated 4,211 food products and approximately 40,000 non-food products from shops in Mecca and Medina because they were harmful to buyers.
Products such as frozen chicken, meats, potatoes, pickles, olive oil, juice, biscuits, tea and dairy products as well as candy were all pulled from the market. As for the 40,000 non-food items, several electric plugs, mobiles, chargers, accessories for cell phones, chains, cosmetics, henna, shampoo and handbags were also pulled out.
Regardless of what one may think of Saudi Arabia, actions like this make it impossible to deny how careful the kingdom is when it comes to the health and safety of its people.