An inspection of 25 restaurants near popular fishing harbors found that 80 percent did not meet sanitation standards, the Consumer Protection Committee announced on Tuesday.
Inspectors in October visited the restaurants near five major fishing ports: Jhuwei (竹圍漁港) in Taoyuan, Wuci (梧棲漁港) in Taichung, Cijin (旗津漁港) in Kaohsiung, Bisha (碧砂漁港) in Keelung and Wushih (烏石漁港) in Yilan County, it said.
The inspection consisted of six categories, including sanitation, fire and epidemic prevention, and laboratory testing of raw fish sold by 18 of the shops, the committee added.
Photo: CNA
Only one restaurant — San Wei Chen Squid Noodles (三味珍小卷米粉) near the Port of Kaohsiung — passed every item, it said.
The committee has issued NT$560,000 in fines and is considering penalties for two additional restaurants, it added.
Committee ombudsman Wang Chih-hung (王志宏) said that 20 of the restaurants did not meet sanitation standards.
Inspectors found infestations of cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies and other disease vectors; food in contact with the floor; expired products; and employees who had not completed their annual health check, among other breaches, Wang said.
Fourteen of the 18 raw fish samples failed to meet food safety standards, he said.
Six of the samples exceeded acceptable levels of bacteria, while eight contained dangerous levels of E. coli and six had excessive volatile base nitrogen, which indicates freshness in seafood, Wang said.
Food with such levels of bacteria would likely trigger digestive distress if consumed, Wang added.
“The most important thing for a restaurant is sanitation,” yet inspectors even found food that had expired four years ago, committee ombudsman Wang Te-ming (王德明) said, adding that the offending product was found at Hsin Huan Kang Seafood Restaurant (新環港海鮮餐廳) in Keelung.
A Tung’s (阿東的店) in Taichung served raw fish full of E. coli, while Chi Hou Huo Seafood (旗后活海產店) in Kaohsiung served raw items with bacteria at 7.8 times the legal level, he added.
Wang Te-ming stressed the importance of public safety, as the gas canisters at 10 of the 25 restaurants failed to pass inspection.
Ching Tun Seafood Restaurant (鯨豚海鮮餐廳) in Yilan County was in particular risk of a gas explosion, with 450kg of gas hooked up without an automatic cutoff device, he said.
Of the NT$560,000 in total penalties issued, five restaurants were fined NT$420,000 for sanitation breaches and eight were fined NT$140,000 for safety breaches involving improper gas connection, Wang Te-ming said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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