Oman health: Ban on street food vendors not lifted, says Muscat Municipality

Muscat: Though the public might have noticed that vendors selling mishkak, a popular grilled food, have returned to Muscat’s streets, the municipality has reiterated that the ban on street vendors “has not been lifted”.
Since September 2015, Muscat Municipality has enforced a ban on the preparation and street sales of grilled meat.
The decision has been largely influenced by the lack of food hygiene among street vendors, and was also enforced to protect the health and safety of consumers and residents.
However, residents of the capital questioned whether the ban had been lifted when vendors were spotted in different locations of Muscat governorate.
Talking to the Times of Oman, a street vendor in Shatti Al Qurum said municipality officials gave them a notice period for the month of Ramadan. “We have no idea what will happen after Ramadan,” said the Omani seller.
Two other vendors in the Wilayat of Al Seeb echoed their fellow mishkak seller, saying the municipality stopped issuing violation letters to vendors at the beginning of the Holy Month.
But municipality officials said the ban is still in effect and all “illegal” vendors will be fined, if caught by authorities.
“Nothing has been changed in the law. The ban is still a ban during Ramadan, and throughout the year,” the official told Times of Oman, while adding that the decision was only taken in response to complaints from the public.
“We still don’t know about the quality of the meat some vendors are grilling, plus the smoke annoys people who live nearby,” the official added.