Brazilian health officials have raided hotels that are to host visiting World Cup teams, including England and Italy, and confiscated expired food such as shrimp and salmon from their kitchens.
“The checks were carried out as part of our drive to see food safety codes enforced as part of a round of inspections being undertaken given the close proximity of the World Cup,” Fabio Domingos, head of inspections at Rio de Janeiro state consumer protection agency Procon, told reporters on Tuesday.
Teams are due to begin arriving next week for the World Cup, which is scheduled to start on June 12. About 600,000 foreign fans and 3.1 million Brazilians are also expected to descend on the 12 host cities.
Procon said its inspectors had found 25kg of expired shrimp, salmon, margarine and pasta at the Hotel Portobello, which is to house the Italian delegation in Mangaratiba just west of Rio.
Domingos said the shrimp had expired early last month.
The inspectors also removed another 24kg of food that had no date labeling.
An inspection at the Royal Tulip Hotel in Rio, where England are to stay, uncovered about 2kg of out-of-date salmon, butter and ham.
A further inspection saw 20kg of food junked at Rio’s Sheraton Hotel.
Among items dumped at the swanky establishment, which is to host four World Cup teams — reigning champions Spain, as well as Belgium, Argentina and Ecuador — were 1.4kg of foie gras.
Domingos said care was taken to ensure that the food thrown away was disposed of properly.
“The products found are immediately doused in detergent and other chemical products so they cannot be reutilized,” he told reporters.
Procon said other hotels would be checked as “teams and fans are all consumers, and we are acting for their benefit.”
It said hotels must tell government officials why they have out of date food on the premises within 15 days or face a fine.
Inspectors also checked Rio’s Hotel Caesar Park, where the Netherlands squad is to be based, but found nothing amiss in its kitchen.
Many of the 32 teams competing at the World Cup plan to bring their own food, and some will even have their own chefs.
Procon said customs at airports would monitor what food was imported as well as its quality.
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