Increased demand on mooneh products following the food safety campaign

The food safety campaign recently launched by the Health Minister Wael Abou Faoor which revealed the deteriorating conditions of the food sector in Lebanon, had a positive impact on the traditional (baladi) mooneh market which saw an upsurge in demand, as reported by As Safir daily in its issue of last Saturday. The newspaper interviewed several women who work in the sector, like Umm Mazen who used part of her house to prepare and display her homemade foodstuffs, urged the government to support this cottage industry as part of maintaining food safety. For her part, Umm Adel Harfush confirmed the increase in demand on “baladi” products, boasting that “our villages and towns have attracted people coming from big cities, like Zahle in the Beqaa, Saida and Nabatiye in the South”, adding that she has now new customers from the capital Beirut, who seek the safe home made products such as milk and dairy products including labneh, cheeses, kishek, zaatar, dry figs and raisins, etc. For her part, Umm Adel praised the support that rural women are receiving from various associations and which take the form of training workshops, promotion and marketing of mooneh products, assistance in provision of needed expertise. However, she noted, the little interest of the authorities in supporting this productive industry which creates job opportunities and benefits the marginalized rural communities. (As Safir, September 19, 2015)