The Syndicate of Restaurant Owners is mobilizing to provide Lebanon’s eateries with better information and training in order to improve food safety. A new initiative to improve food safety standards is now in progress across the country.

On May 15, at the Mir Amin Palace in the Chouf, the syndicate presented a comprehensive plan to promote food safety, in collaboration with Boecker and GWR Food Safety.

Aref Saade, the syndicate’s treasurer, told The Daily Star that implementation of the plan has been in the works for some time. The group began planning the initiative a couple of years ago, but work was halted for a time.

But following a nationwide crackdown by Health Minister Wael Abu Faour last November, efforts to implement the program began anew.

“In Lebanon for the past 50-60 years there has not been legislation – we don’t have new things … we are still using old legislation with regard to health and with regard to food. [But] there have been big developments and [there is more] pollution worldwide,” Saade said, adding that these days people are more likely to be exposed to viruses and bacteria.

The plan’s program focuses on three main things: food safety, insect and pest management, and customer service.