Labasa restaurant under probe after alleged stale food complaints

A Labasa restaurant has been ordered to rectify insanitary conditions after a surprise inspection by the Ministry of Health’s Food Unit following complaints about the quality of meals served to customers.

Divisional Health Inspector Northern Vakaruru Cavuilati confirmed that an abatement notice had been issued to the restaurant operator.

Allegations that stale dhal was sold last week to several customers, who wished to remain anonymous, prompted this masthead to alert the relevant authority, which then investigated.

Mr Cavuilati said inspectors identified insanitary conditions at the restaurant that had been observed previously.

The operator has been instructed to rectify the health non-compliance issues.

An abatement notice is a formal, legally binding directive requiring a person or business to stop an unlawful activity, rectify a violation or abate a public nuisance within a specified timeframe.

Initially, two restaurants were alleged to have served low-quality meals to customers.

However, the second restaurant, which was also alleged to have served stale dhal, was cleared after a divisional food inspection found no issues.

Mr Cavuilati said the inspection found that staff at the second restaurant purchased meal preparation items daily.

Food grading

Restaurant grading remains a priority for the ministry to ensure food quality and safety standards are maintained.

Grading is undertaken annually, with the best-performing restaurants ranked A, followed by B and C. C-grade restaurants are at risk of temporary closure if non-compliance issues persist.

Mr Cavuilati said a report would be prepared following the reinspection of the restaurant under investigation.

He said all restaurant operators had been instructed to comply with food safety standards, particularly during the busy festive trading period.

“We have been trying to ensure that consumers receive food worth their purchase, and that means quality food,” he said.

While overall compliance remained good, he said operators had been advised to improve in specific areas depending on their grading.

Mr Cavuilati stressed that substandard food quality would not be tolerated and urged operators to raise their standards.

He said kitchen cleanliness should be prioritised to ensure meals were prepared in a clean and hygienic environment.

Restaurant owners and staff were cautioned to ensure waste disposal was properly planned and waste was not allowed to accumulate in kitchens.

In the past few years, some restaurants have been temporarily closed after food monitoring teams identified substandard cleanliness in food preparation areas.