B Laban back in business — in Saudi, at least. Homegrown dessert chain B Laban is officially resuming operations in Saudi Arabia after all of its branches there were shut down last month due to suspected food safety violations, the company said in a statement. The news comes amid the chain’s continued closure in Egypt, but B Laban branches could reopen their doors after a week or so — provided they meet a list of food-safety and regulatory requirements, co-owner Abdel Rahman Ashmawy told Al Arabiya.

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Last week, authorities shuttered all 110 of B Laban branches nationwide, affecting some 25k workers for the chain, the company said in a statement.The sweeping move also included several other sister brands of the dessert chain, including Kunafa w Basbousa, Karam El Sham, Whammy Burger, and 3m Shaltat. The closures also extended to the chain’s production facilities and affiliated outlets.

The action followed inspections by the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) in the second half of Ramadan, after they received complaints about food safety concerns, NFSA chairman Tariq Al Hobi told eXtra News (watch, runtime: 7:16). “We found substances that are prohibited for use, such as certain colorants.” The inspection also found “expired products — and even the valid ones were marred and tainted by a set of changes in their sensory characteristics,” Al Hobi said.

The company was already told what to fix — but allegedly didn’t follow through. The NFSA had met with one of B Laban’s owners and a technical team from the company on 6 April to walk them through the corrective measures required to bring their factories and retail outlets in line with food safety regulations. However, the company “did not take the necessary steps to comply,” the authority said in a statement. Following that meeting, “we conducted an inspection of 47 establishments affiliated with this chain…in some branches, out of ten samples collected, eight were contaminated with pathogenic bacteria that pose a danger to consumer health.” Al Hobi also said that “some products contained insects and flies” and that “the sanitation systems in a large part of these establishments weren’t designed appropriately.”

But B Laban owner and founder Moamen Adel begged to differ, telling Al Hekayah’s Amr Adib that “what happened was odd and sudden — all of our branches were closed in one day…We asked what’s the problem, we were not notified of any violations” (watch, runtime: 52:33). Adel also stressed that there hasn’t been a single confirmed food-poisoning case.

The Health Ministry says the issues went far beyond just a few branches. The Health Ministry said it also found unlicensed outlets, and food items of unknown origin. Lab tests of 437 samples collected from the chain revealed that some “did not conform to Egyptian quality standards,” the ministry said. Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar also told Ala Masouleety’s Ahmed Moussa that 387 citations were issued over health requirement violations or staff lacking valid health certificates (watch, runtime: 24:00). Abdel Ghaffar also told Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi that not all closures were due to food-safety related issues, as the dessert chain had “122 unlicensed establishments,” which also faced temporary closure (watch, runtime: 15:01).

The company appealed to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the cabinet, and regulators, arguing that the closures were sudden and left it in the dark about what triggered them, according to a statement. “We have not been granted clarity regarding the reasons behind these measures or the mechanisms for resolution, leaving the company and its employees in a state of total paralysis,” the company said. It added that the closure is affecting some 25k workers and disrupting its operations across nine Arab countries. “Whatever the doctors at the NFSA want, we will do…but don’t close the branches,” Adel told Adib.

The company now has five days to comply with a set of health and licensing requirements for it to reopen branches, which resulted from a marathon 8-hour meeting yesterday with representatives from officials from the Health and Supply ministries, NFSA, local administration, and veterinary services. The corrective measures outlined by the government to reopen the dessert chain include phasing out synthetic food colorants, updating infrastructure at restaurants and factories — including ventilation windows and sewage piping — and registering unlicensed branches. Local officials also required that any outstanding license paperwork be completed for locations with open regulatory files. Ashmawy said all the conditions were “straightforward” and praised the government’s “high degree of cooperation” in the process.

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