23 Feb 2010

Ministry of Health in Fiji launches restaurant food safety drive

1:52 pm on 23 February 2010

The Ministry of Health in Fiji is cracking down on restaurants and takeaways with poor food and hygiene practices.

The Ministry's Food Unit Department is soon to launch a grading system to urge restaurants and eateries to comply with the Food Safety Act 2003 and Food Safety Regulations 2009.

The Head of the Department Jope Tamani says many complaints have been made about restaurants all over the country and the new system will rate restaurants from A to D based on which standards they meet.

"I guess we'll always find defects with them but then we need to give them a card with a non-compliance. We give them time to comply depending on the seriousness or depending on the times the non-compliance is identified. But otherwise if it's a D, it's a fail. And that's when we'll push for immediate closure and we can only reconsider opening them when the owner does what is needed."

Jope Tamani says there is a problem with food safety in the country but the Department is trying to work out the extent of it.