DOHA: A video of a mouse snuggled up in a sack of dried peas had gone viral within hours after a social media user posted it in Instagram yesterday.
The 15-second video taken in Souq Waqif by Instagram user n3mon generated hundreds of views and comments from social media users, some of whom questioned the safety of food and other items in the souq thousands visit daily to buy. “They have rats. It’s disgusting,” commented an Instagram user who saw the video.
The video has raised alarm among consumers, with some finding it disturbing as the mouse was seen sitting on food for humans. Mice have been known to cause food poisoning through faecal contamination.
The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has intensified crackdown on restaurants and retail food outlets in recent years and the souq — popular among Qataris and expatriates, is in the spotlight, especially when Ramadan and Eid holidays approach. Continued on page 3
Inspectors who have done surprise raids on these retail outlets have found violations related to expiry dates and poor handling, storage and display of items.
It can be noted that food items sold in these outlets, like the one seen in the video, are displayed without any cover or protection from contamination.
Some people, though, have expressed doubts about the veracity of the video, saying it was perhaps not taken by accident but was filmed intentionally.
“Maybe somebody bought the mouse from a pet shop in Souq Waqif and made a video of it,” said a comment.
Others, however, believe the video is authentic as the mouse appears to be a house mouse, not a pet.THE PENINSULA
