Sulaimani's Two Famous Kebab Shops Shut Down by Health Inspector

A health inspection team in Sulaimani has shut down, albeit temporarily, 22 restaurants in the past five months for failing to meet hygienic standards. Among them are the citys two most popular Kebab shops.

On a routine food inspection, said the city health team, they discovered that the red meat used by these two Kebab shops "were infested with bacteria due to unhealthy storage conditions for several days,"

Kebab Wali and Kebab Qadir have for years been famous across the province and customers from near and far have made sure to eat there even for once. Thus their closure by the health authorities became the talk of town.

People were shocked by the news while owners of the Kebab shops dismiss the health authorities claim as baseless and say it is just an attempt aimed at destroying the reputation of their business.

Adil Hassan, a chef at Kebab Wali who has made kebab for ordinary and important people, among them Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, said, "After all these years, why has our meat suddenly become unhealthy? No one has complained before and no one has got poisoned from the food we serve. They just want to harm our reputation and nothing more."

In response, Osman Abubakir, a health inspector told Rudaw, "We sent samples of the red meat used by these two restaurants to our laboratories for examining. We found out the meat were stored in the fridge for three days and were infested with bacteria and were unsuitable for human consumption.

Abubakir said that the closure was only for five days and that the owners will be sent to court and the place will be permanently shut down in case of repetition."

The two Kebab shops are located a few hundred meters from each other on Sulaimanis Goran Street where the majority of the citys clinics and pharmacies are.

Dana Ahmed, a waiter in of the Kebab shops, says, "If two famous Kebab houses in Sulaimani risk peoples health like this, what about the other small restaurants?"

Ahmed says he has quit his job as a waiter and that he would probably never eat in those Kebab shops again.

Wali Ali Gulam, owner of Kebab Wali, says, "This committee has no evidence against us except harming our reputation. I am suspicious about their motives and this could be a plot by someone against us."

Dilzar Salih, a customer told Rudaw the case of one of his friends who recently ate in one of these kebab shops.

"After the meal he got a strong diarrhea and vomiting, Salih said. I believe the findings of the health committee because most of the meat they use is imported from India and they are not questioned for it."

Qadir Hamma, the owner of Kebab Qadir, has been running this business for more than 25 years. He says that the authorities shut down his shop only to flex their muscles.

"Nobody has complained for the past 25 years, Qadir says. I was never fined before now, but the officials of that health committee have closed my restaurant only to harm our reputation and flex their muscles."

But Rebwar Jalal, a health official in Sulaimani told Rudaw, It is our duty to inspect places that sell meat. We inspect suspicious places and our job is to protect peoples health and nothing more. It has nothing to do with personal grudges."