Food inspectors shut down Bagotville Chinese restaurant

…find cooking station laden with flies, rodents

Unsanitary food preparation and handling have resulted in the closure of a Chinese restaurant at Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, after food inspectors conducted an examination of the facility.
Guyana Times understands that the restaurant was visited by inspectors last week, where alarming discoveries were unearthed. Ingredients and cooked items were stored improperly and the preparation was deemed unfit for consumption. The cooking station was also laden with flies and rodents.
While only one establishment was ordered to close their operations, other facilities were visited and almost similar conditions were found. Businesses on the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara were given impromptu visits and were asked to improve some operating conditions so as to continue selling cooked food items to the public. In one instance, expired beverages were being marketed to customers.
Just a few weeks ago, a prominent food establishment on Sheriff Street, Georgetown, was forced to close its operations until hygienic standards were met.
In April, Director of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) Marlan Cole explained that restaurants have come under scrutiny for the quality of foods they prepare and sell to locals. As such, a survey was conducted in the capital city.
Although the survey was only conducted on restaurants in Georgetown, he assured that annual inspections would be conducted on all restaurants across the country by the GA-FDD’s health officers in all 10 administrative regions.
Moreover, those officers will also begin investigating if a complaint is made against a food establishment.
“The public health officers in the regions would do the inspections at the Chinese restaurants and I believe it’s annual inspections and for the city, it would be done by the City Public Health Department…if there is a complaint, an investigation can be launched,” Cole stated.
According to him, the survey focused on the environmental conditions of the restaurant inclusive of the air and water quality, the sanitation of the restaurants’ surfaces and utensils and more importantly, sanitation of the hands of the workers.