Finally, the public is starting to get over its reticence in reporting matters to the authorities for fear of reproach.

The latest incident took place when crates of milk and ricotta which were left outside a shop in Marsascala were seized and destroyed by Health Inspectorate as they had been left in a higher than permissible temperature range.

In other words, the owner did not turn up for the delivery and they were left outside. To put people’s mind at rest, one must say that both retailer and distributor were tracked down and legal action will be taken against them. The retailer is also understood to have been booked not too long ago for a similar offence.

First and foremost, we commend the inspector for acting on complaints lodged by the general public, which more often than not, are proving to be accurate and justified. We also commend them for embarking on early morning patrols which are specifically carried out to spot such violations.

We also commend the general public for going to the authorities with their reports. After all, it takes the villagers and locals to spot a repeat offender, no one knows village business more than residents themselves.

However, we raise a point. If we take this particular instance, as mentioned, it was not the first time that he had done it. He had been caught on a previous occasion, but it makes a person wonder just how many times he had done it before. It also makes people wonder just how many retailers do exactly the same thing.

If we take Sundays as a case in point, the shops which are open tend to charge a higher price for goods. This is fair enough, it happens all over the world. Shops which open out of normal hours have to pay overtime and it is only fair for the customer to shoulder some of that extra cost.

But when one is paying for a service or goods, no matter how cheap or expensive, one wants to be assured that what one is buying is of the utmost quality.

It is absolutely disgusting to think that products, particularly volatile ones such as ricotta and milk are left unrefrigerated, even if it is just for five minutes.

As we saw recently, it is very easy for bacteria to start breeding within the products. One of the age old laws in the kitchen is never to leave the milk out in the summer, even for a few minutes. One also has to take this in the context of milk being a product which is consumed by many children.

One understands that there might be one off incidents where the retailer might be, for argument’s sake, caught up in traffic. But the onus is on them to get rid of any products that might have been left outside and they should also inform the inspectorate that they want to dispose of it and have it voluntarily destroyed.

People’s health is not something that should be messed around with, especially if they are paying hard earned money for it. For too long, Maltese people have put up with it, and have been their own worst enemy for not reporting it. The direct action being taken proves that the inspectorate is taking it seriously and the public has every interest to cooperate. We just hope that it is a sustained effort and that they are allocated the resources which they require to carry out the job properly.