Rabat – Officials from the province of Ifrane have denied the accusations of a young Moroccan restaurant owner, Otmane Barakat, who claimed that authorities have “unjustly” revoked the license of his restaurant “Foodie.”
Following Barakat’s Facebook livestream where he attempted to commit suicide for the “injustice” he has faced, the province refuted the statements in Barakat’s video, denouncing “unfounded allegations, abuse, and favoritism.”
With the case currently being the subject of legal proceedings, officials from the province, located 56 km from Fes, issued a statement on Thursday and “denied the untruths conveyed by the individual in his Facebook livestream.”
The statement, quoted by Morocco’s press agency MAP, further pointed out that Barakat was arrested last march at a judicial checkpoint “in possession of food and meat of dubious origin, with the absence of the hygienic conditions required to transport such products.”
The public prosecutor’s office has convened the provincial committee to inspect the store where the expired products would have been transported to.
“A store for the preparation and storage of foodstuffs in the city of Azrou was inspected. It showed numerous infringements and failed to comply with the necessary health, technical, and safety standards required to exercise this type of activity,” the province said.
Authorities further noted that the store in Azrou is facing “other offenses such as hiring workers without legal declaration and without the necessary health documents.”
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The prefecture states that the products seized “whether in the car used by the person concerned or inside the store concerned, present a danger to the health of citizens,” highlighting that the products “have been destroyed in accordance with the laws in force.”
In addition, “the restaurant of the person concerned in Ifrane was also subject to inspection, where a number of violations were found, including non-compliance with health, technical, hygiene and safety requirements.”
“Food products, whose pre-emption date has expired, have also been seized and destroyed,” the same source added.
Ifrane province officials stressed that the communal authorities of Azrou and Ifrane have been “requested to take precautionary measures by closing the two premises – the place where meals were prepared and the restaurant itself – pending the judicial authorities’ decision.”
According to Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture, the safety of food products is subject to the provisions of law 28.07, which allows control services to assess the quality and safety of food products sold across the country.
People who are involved in breaching health safety standards can face prison sentences, fines, or both.
