Since January, the Dept. of Health has closed 50 restaurants, fast food joints, stores that sell food, and public and private school canteens, bakeries and catering services because of unsanitary conditions.
Few were spared by this recent change in DOH enforcement efforts. Some of the most popular fast food businesses and restaurants on island did not pass inspection by the Environmental Health division of Dept. of Health (DOH) and were forced to close while they corrected the nissues.
McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., Sadie’s by the Sea, Koko Been, A&E Cafe, Paradise Pizza, Henry’s Diner, Stephen & Sons and I Love Boba are just some of the territory’s popular food places that were shuttered. DOH also closed school canteens at Tafuna High School, Tafuna Elementary, Nu’uuli Vocational Technical High School and Fa’asao Marist High School.
For several of the closures, DOH received complaints that the establishments had not renewed their DOH permits for 2021, a requirement for all businesses that sell food. When DOH inspectors visited to check, they found several violations of health regulations.
A report viewed by KHJ News spelled out all the issues found at some of the closed businesses. Filthy kitchen equipment, cockroaches, flies, ants and rat feces were found in food handling areas. Food from the morning was still being sold at night. Some businesses had no health permits. Another common finding was cross contamination of raw fish and cooked food items.
Deputy Director of Health Vesi Fautanu Jr. said in an interview with KHJ News the “main priority of DOH is to ensure that the health of our people is protected when they go out to dinner and when they buy food from the stores or restaurants.” He said DOH wants to make sure the food is clean and safe for our people.
Fautanu said businesses must comply with health regulations and DOH works with those that are not compliant to clean up as quickly as possible so they can reopen to serve the public.
“I understand that all these folks are serving our community but at the same time, just make sure the area is clean and there’s no cross contamination of the food because that’s one source of food poisoning. And that is the big concern of DOH.”
He says when they find violations of health regulations they will give the business a list of what they need to do to reopen.
“If they can prepare and be ready in 2 or 3 days, we are more than happy to (let them) re-open. Some businesses can go one week or two weeks, some will be ready within 24 hours or 48 hours. We always stand by to accommodate them because it’s business. We understand that its money and they have to understand that we need to work together to ensure the safety of our people,” Vesi explained.
He added that during this time of stimulus and tax refund checks, more people will be spending their money at restaurants.
“Of course people are feeling rich. The first thing that came to their mind is to go out and eat. The government and the Department of Health’s main concern is to make sure that our folks are not getting any health issues when they eat out or buy food from local stores,” said the DOH official.
