Sharjah sets Dhs500 permit fee to display food outside shops during daytime in Ramadan

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Municipality announces start of issuing permits for food preparation and sale sites during daylight hours of Ramadan

Sharjah City Municipality has announced its preparations for the Holy Month of Ramadan. These include the issuance of permits for food preparation and sale sites during daylight hours, as well as permits for displaying food in front of shops before the Iftar time for restaurants, cafeterias, sweet shops and bread bakeries.

The permits will also apply to sites in shopping malls. The permit issuance fee is Dhs500. The municipality has outlined a series of conditions that must be met in order to issue these permits.

For instance, during daylight hours in Ramadan, food must be served off-site; receiving customers in the dining area is not allowed. Furthermore, food preparation and cooking are strictly limited to the kitchens.

The permit to display food for sale in front of shops before the Iftar time is subject to several conditions, including the requirement to display food directly on the front sidewalk of the site (provided that it is not dirt), to place it in non-rusting metal containers, and to display it in a tightly sealed glass box no less than 100 cm high, equipped with a sliding or hinged door.

The food must also be covered with aluminium foil or transparent food-grade plastic, and food-grade packaging materials must be used.

It is also necessary to preserve food at an appropriate temperature (not refrigerated or frozen), and to prepare the food displayed in the facility according to the permitted activity.

The municipality has indicated that it has provided several service channels and centres for the purpose of facilitating permit issuance.

These include the Municipal Drawing Center (Al Nasiriyah), Tasareeh Center, Al Raqam Wahed Center, Municipality 24 Center, Al Saqr Center, Al Rolla Center, Al Khalidiya Center, Al Surah and Al Diqah Center, Saif Center, Al Malomat Center, Al Saada Center and Tawjeeh Center.