The Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing has set the requirements for self-service machines, the places where they are prohibited from being placed, and the products that are prohibited from being sold through them.
In the project that it put forward on the “Istiqla” platform, the Ministry defined self-service machines as units that are manufactured according to the requirements of the General Authority for Standardization, Metrology and Quality, and are equipped to carry out a specific activity. Among these types are food and health self-service machines, which are manufactured and equipped units for preparing and serving drinks and meals. , and health products, packaged in different packages in types for the purpose of circulation and consumption.
The Ministry added that there are non-food self-service machines, which are units equipped to preserve and display non-food products so that the consumer can obtain these products with the required quality. The following are the most prominent of these requirements:
Banning the sale of tobacco and energy drinks
The requirements prevented the sale of energy drinks and tobacco products through machines, and also prohibited the use of cups made of plastic or “cork” foam in bottling hot drinks. to damage and corruption.
Providing cameras and a method for electronic payment
The Ministry stressed that the self-service machines must be tightly closed, to prevent the leakage of dust and other pollutants, and to prevent the entry of insects and rodents. The machines for selling and delivering goods and postal parcels must also have an electronic system that guarantees the delivery of goods to their owners.
It also stressed setting up a side panel to disclose allergens and calories, in addition to providing a method for electronic payment for machines that require payment. The machines must also be equipped with surveillance cameras, provided that the memory of the cameras keeps the recordings for a month to be submitted to the regulatory authorities.
license
The requirements included the prohibition of starting the work of operating the machines without obtaining the municipal license. The ministry also required attaching a valid municipal license, obtaining the approval of the authority supervising the activity before operating it, providing a lease or investment contract for the floor of the machine, and an acknowledgment from the licensee that the machine has obtained a quality certificate from Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization.
Places where machines are allowed to be installed
The Ministry stated that the location of the self-service machines should not be exposed, directly or indirectly, to any source of pollution such as industrial waste, sewage areas, landfills, or other sources of pollution. , events, complexes, commercial centers and gas stations.
She added that if the self-service machines are located in open areas, the machines must be shaded to protect them from the influence of sunlight, and in the event that the site is designated for car service, the distance between the sidewalk curb and the machines located on the side of the road must be no less than 75 cm. The curb is the barrier between the sidewalk and the road.
The Ministry forbade placing barriers around the location of the machines, indicating that it is sufficient for the protection columns for car service, and the floor area of the machine must not be less than 1 square meter, and the distance between the machine and the back wall is not less than 15 cm, and the machines must not impede the movement of pedestrians on the sidewalk, so that the distance is not less than Available to pedestrians about 1 m.
Places where machines are not allowed to be installed
The ministry prohibited the installation of machines at traffic lights and intersections, and stressed that they should not be installed directly along public and main roads directly from the outside, and that their location be on the inner side of the sidewalk, and it is also forbidden to install them next to a heat source.
Other requirements
The requirements stipulated that it is forbidden to use wooden floors of all kinds with the machines, in addition to providing a ramp for people with disabilities free of defects in the event that the self-service machines are on high ground that can only be reached by stairs.
The requirements included that the self-service machines be provided with industrial ventilation, to preserve the products, and that their electrical network be provided with a ground wire system for grounding, to avoid the risk of electric shock, and that the machines be lit from the inside with lighting lamps against breakage or protected with covers against breakage and dust leakage. and fumes.
The requirements also stipulate that the machines should be cleaned and disinfected according to a predetermined schedule, to prevent contamination, in addition to providing tightly closed containers that open by pressing the foot, and the food self-service machines must also be equipped with an alert feature to know the expiration of one of the components, to notify the operating party to refill the containers with raw materials. .
