Just picture it. A huge pile – 46 kilogrammes of meat, 10 kilogrammes of cheese, 80 kilogrammes of date cakes, an additional 60 kilogrammes of other foodstuffs and 54 litres of bottled water to wash it down with.
It sounds like barbecue provisions for the entire village, but it is not. It is the amount of foodstuffs seized during the past few months by environmental health officers. It was no secret that Malta had a problem of laxity in making sure that foodstuffs are stored properly and this became evident over the summer.
Various distributors and shop owners were fined because they had left dairy products out in the sun, leading to their not being deemed fit for consumption. Others point fingers at the street-side fast food joints and vending kiosks, cowboy mini markets and many more. But these figures speak for themselves – the problem is much more widespread than we had thought.
As a customer, one expects quality, safety and value for money. While the news of the seizure of the foodstuffs was announced, the reason why they were seized was not. It makes one shudder to think. Food poisoning, salmonella and worse – it is possible to contract them all.
However, the role of these inspectors, is, as it should be, also educational. The system works whereby they make unannounced inspections at all types of establishments involved in handling food. This ranges from storage to retail, distribution, to preparation and cooking.
If deficiencies are noted, the company is informed of them and how to address the situation. The inspectors will then follow up. If the establishment has registered some serious shortcoming, then the inspectors will legally bind them to solve the problem. Only if standards are not met do they then proceed with harsher action. These figures remind us that we should, as consumers, be vigilant. The problems also extend to tampering of sell-by dates by some unscrupulous shop owners and while we should not have to expect to put up with such things, we should do our bit and always check items.
The major danger, though, is in products that have not been stored properly – meat and cheese are such items. Bacteria begin to multiply very quickly once flesh is exposed to the elements, contamination or other meats. Cheese can grow invisible cultures that can make you really ill. And here, we have no control. It is thanks to the work of these inspectors that we can, 95 per cent of the time, find good food at shops, great meals at restaurants and all in good sanitary conditions. Self-regulation is also paramount and those establishment owners who do go the extra mile to ensure they have everything up to standard deserve recognition.
The department of Environmental Health encourages people to report any incidents or suspicions they may have, aside from their own investigations. Such cooperation is paramount and at the end of the day, if we – as customers – allow people to get away with selling inferior or contaminated produce, we should speak up. One of the major things that people should look out for is product labeling – did you get what you were promised? Is that chicken fresh or has it been defrosted? These are all questions we should ask.