THE THREAT of closure facing more than a thousand food outlets in St. Thomas raises serious questions that may be pertinent beyond the parish. For the St. Thomas Health Department was responding to a Ministry of Health directive covering food establishments islandwide.
What the Ministry has said is that all food establishments must be registered and certified by the local health authorities by March 31, a deadline that was extended from January 31, 2001.
Since the latest deadline has also passed the degree of compliance has not been publicly disclosed except in the case of St. Thomas. Of the 1,400 food places surveyed, only 250 have been registered and certified by the health department.
In other words the state of food storage, insect and rat infestation, running water, appropriate clothing and utensils is not known in more than 1,000 food establishments in the parish.
The Ministry should seek to ensure public disclosure of the degree of compliance with its directive in all other parishes. It is not enough to advise the public to exercise caution when buying food in the wide variety of outlets available, not only in orthodox shops and restaurants, but also from sidewalk stalls, converted metal drums, and mobile itinerant vendors in many townships.
One of the more obvious defaults is the lack of running water to ensure the minimum of personal hygiene on the part of food vendors.
We agree with the St. Thomas Health spokesman who said closure should be a last resort for non-compliance with the Ministry directive.
But we would insist that firm action be taken in any instance of defiance. Public health must be protected.
