The Govern has temporarily closed a total of five bars and restaurants this year on Ibiza because they represented a danger to the health of customers. In 17 others the inspectors of the Public Health department found enough deficiencies which were serious enough to force them to solve them immediately as the only way to avoid closure. In total, since the beginning of this year, 36 food businesses on the island have been sanctioned, according to the department’s report.
“The normal thing would be to find everything right. They are not the results that we would like to find in the inspections”, comments Rosa Llull, head of the food preparation and service section of the Balearic Ministry of Health. The department have found deficiencies in three out of every four establishments in which food is served or processed during their inspections.
Only seven (3%) have received the rating of “excellent”, ie no deficiency or non-compliance has been detected and only 47 of “good”, which is awarded to those in which deficiencies are found “that do not pose a risk” to the health of consumers. This could be that they have detected a broken shelf or a new handler has just been incorporated who is finishing the necessary training.
Although these inspections are carried out in all types of establishments where food is served or handled, Llull highlights that the vast majority of non-compliances, especially the most serious ones, are concentrated in bars and restaurants. This is mainly due to the difficulty in finding qualified personnel as well as the high turnover of professionals, she explains.
149 Establishments inspected this year
So far this year Public Health inspectors have inspected a total of 149 food establishments. In total, 269 inspections have been made, as some of them have had to be revisited on several occasions.
5 Establishments forced to close temporarily due to serious deficiencies
So far, Health has decreed the precautionary closure of five bars and restaurants in which it found serious deficiencies for the health of customers.
3% Bars and restaurants receive an “excellent” rating
Only 3% of the inspected establishments received an “excellent” rating with no deficiencies or noncompliances were detected.
Health Risks
When the immediate closure of an establishment is declared it is because the problems detected may cause a serious problem for the health of customers. There is an imminent risk. That is to say that if someone consumes something at that very moment they can become ill. This is what has happened in five establishments (3% of those inspected) in 2022 and in another five (1%) last year. This measure is taken when there is “clear evidence” that hands are not washed or cutlery is not disinfected, which must be washed at high temperature to prevent the spread of viruses such as, for example, hepatitis. Dirt, pests, inadequate food preservation temperatures or not using different utensils for different foods, which can cause cross-contamination, are other reasons for which closure is declared at the time of inspection.
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