Health inspectors destroy 48 tonnes of food, close down illegal abattoir

Of these 48 tonnes, 25,920kg of melons and watermelons which were imported into Malta were not of the quality demanded by the purchaser; 21,000kg of energy drinks which were voluntary surrendered following seizure order issued by the Health Inspectorate.

In other cases, 1,267kg of jams and aromas and 2.27kg of pop corn with lapsed durability dates; 200kg of sausages following court order; 52kg of burgers for failing to provide traceability and labelling issues; 6.8kg of perishable foodstuffs such as sandwiches were being kept at inappropriate temperatures; and 3.5kg of poultry were not packed in authorised premises.

During August, 439 improvement notices were issued to food business operators, following an unannounced inspection by Environmental Health Officers within their establishment.

The intention of this notice is to inform food operators about deficiencies noted in their establishments and the operator is given a specific date in order to remedy these deficiencies. Whilst the scale of deficiencies might vary, legal action is initiated when major deficiencies are noted.

During the same month, nine undertakings were entered into with operators.

Undertakings are legal agreements between the food business operators and the Health Authority specifying deadlines by which deficiencies in their premises should be remedied or to re-label products in compliance with standing legislation.  Failure to abide with the agreed deadlines results in Court proceedings being initiated. 

The main reasons were structural deficiencies in food premises, for not implementing a food safety management system such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, improperly labelled food, and failure to adopt food hygiene training.

Five legionella audits were carried out in hotels, while seven contraventions were issued to food business operators: two for keeping dairy products without proper temperature control, one for authenticity on honey, one for tampering with products sealed by the Health Authority, one for keeping an illegal abattoir and risk of contamination, another for keeping a food premises in unhygienic conditions and exposing food to risk of contamination and another one for failing to provide traceability documentation, obstruction of authorised officers and risk of contamination.

During August, another seven contraventions were issued by the Health Inspectorate in relation to other environmental health issues, as follows: two contraventions were issued against individuals for keeping a cesspit without the necessary permits from the Superintendent of Public Health, another two for keeping their houses dirty, one for keeping an accumulation of refuse, one for not removing a stoppage in drains and another one for keeping drains in a bad state of repair and causing an infiltration of water into third party property.

Three emergency control orders were issued; one for illegal processing and packing of meat and meat products, another for illegally producing cheeselets and similar products and another for storing bakery goods in unhygienic conditions.

No prohibition orders were issued during the past month.