Hygiene goes for a toss at many eateries

WITH the rise in mercury, the risks of catching a food-borne illness at a neighbourhood restaurant multiply as well.

Though the Food Observation Department at the Doha Municipality keeps a check on the hygiene standards at restaurants, cafes and bakeries in the city, a few eateries and bistros Gulf Times inspected, were found lacking in hygiene.

One eatery in the Muntazah area that sells breakfast, lunch as well as dinner, had employees hardly following the personal hygiene practices.

Improper hand-washing and bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, absence of hair restraints in some cases and untidy outer clothing were seen at this restaurant. A quick look at the kitchen showed unkempt utensils and equipment.

“I am a pittance for the amount of work I do here. You want me to start worrying about customers’ health,” said one person who was waiting on the table.

“People who are health conscious don’t and shouldn’t come to this restaurant. We cater to the low-income group anyway,” was the response of the manager.

However, food-borne illnesses have been reported from eateries of all categories in the past.

At another restaurant, wiping cloth was dirty and seemed to have not been stored in a sanitising solution. The food contact surfaces in the kitchen seemed to have not been washed, rinsed and sanitised properly either.

According to the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, food contact surfaces that can no longer be properly cleaned due to chips, cracks or pits allow microorganisms to attach and form biofilms.

Biofilms are highly resistant to cleaning and sanitising and can release pathogens into the food, the department suggests.

“During a recent visit to a snack cafe, I found employees disposing of the trash, moving the dustbin, and then serving the orders, including picking out cakes from a jar, all with bare hands,” recalled a customer.

According to her, another food worker preparing the order looked ill and was coughing incessantly.

Upon checking with the manager, she was told: “We are already short-staffed and underpaid (including the manager) and can’t take too many days off, even with a contagious infection.”

“I just cancelled my order and told my children that we’ll go home and eat,” she added.

Food departments around the world, usually suggest that staff members preparing the food must wash hands after visiting the toilet, smoking, sneezing and coughing. That food preparation and storage areas must be clean and the establishment must not be a vermin harborage, unlike one rare rat and a few roaches that this reporter found at a restaurant in Bin Mahmoud.

“But all this requires employee supervision and training. It must be the responsibility of the owner or the manager of an eatery to ensure pure food that is free of contamination,” suggested a resident, who has no other option but to eat out.