The Environmental Health Division of the Department of Health has begun business inspections for 2023 health permit renewals. And its led to the closure of some popular fast food restaurants.
Aileen Solaita of DOH says that they’ve closed Milovale’s, Carl’s Jr., a snack bar in Alofau and a laundromat in Auto to clean up before they can be issued health permits for the new year.
She said, except for Carl’s Jr., a common finding is cockroaches and rat feces. “There’s no way we can allow a restaurant that makes food to remain open when there’s rat feces, and cockroaches are crawling where the food is made,” said Solaita.
Another cause for a citation is cooking oil left in the open for several days, dirty kitchen equipment and utensils.
Solaita says, the DOH inspections are starting with restaurants and stores which accept WIC vouchers but if they receive complaints from the public, they will respond to those right away. The closure of Milovale’s was the result of a call from a customer. He had ordered a fish burger from the Nu’uuli joint and the fish was brown and the lettuce was wilted. DOH sent inspectors to check and found several health violations.
“We advise businesses to clean their premises and be ready for our inspections, to avoid closure,” said Solaita.
