High-risk establishments are inspected more frequently, and half of the annual food safety inspections of establishments take place in the summer due to hightemperatures, Herodotus Herodotus, Director of Health Services, told CNA.
“The main objective of the Health Services, in addition to the food sampling conducted throughout the year, is to ensure inspecting all food establishments based on the risk level of each establishment,” he noted, explaining that each facility is assigned a rating based on certain criteria used by the Health Services. The criteria used to assess a facility’s risk level include previous inspections and food sampling conducted at that specific facility, as well as information received through the European RASFF system (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed), he added.
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The goal is for high-risk facilities to be inspected more frequently than other facilities with a lower risk, said Mr. Herodotus, emphasizing that these specific facilities are targeted each year so that they can be inspected more frequently.
Responding to a question from CNA regarding the measures taken when high-risk establishments are identified, the Director of Health Services stated that “in addition to the administrative fine imposed by the head of the Health Services, if the condition of the establishment warrants it, then the establishment may, in accordance with the law, be closed for 4 days.” “If the business complies before the 4 days are up, it may reopen. If it does not comply, those 4 days may be extended by another 4 or even more until compliance is achieved,” he emphasized.
So far this summer, the Health Services have not closed any establishment other than the venue in Limassol where a case of food poisoning occurred during a wedding reception, noted Herodotus Herodotus.
When asked whether health inspections of establishments have increased this summer compared to the previous period due to the heat wave, the head of the Health Services replied that, if based on the rating system, an establishment is required to be inspected 3–4 times a year, then 1–2 of those inspections, at the discretion of the health inspector conducting them, take place during the summer, due to high temperatures and the increased risk of bacterial growth if food is left out of the refrigerator.
In conclusion, Mr. Herodotus noted that the Health Services are preparing a report on the inspections they conduct at the end of the year and into the beginning of the next.
Source: CNA
