Roadside food vendors assure they are ‘safe’
From what this news site observed, while some of the business were in places where one might rightly have concerns regarding safety, there were necessary steps taken to ensure those fears were mitigated.
Rene St Clair Jeffers aka ‘Panchie’ who operates a food van on Fishlock Road in Road Town said that while he appreciates the concern expressed by members of the public he does not think the safety of the food he prepares is compromised just because he is next to the road.
“A lot of vehicles don’t pass at night,” he said, dispelling concerns that dust pollution is an issue for his establishment.
According to Jeffers, Environmental Heath Division staff would come to do their inspections and he said he is compliant with their regulations.
He said too that he has been in the business since 1978 and has never had any problem with anyone.
'Everything is fresh'
Dwayne Rubaine is a relative of the owner of Nito’s food van, which is a popular spot for ‘leg and fries’ and ‘goat water’. Just across the road from that food van is a garbage bin that is emptied at nights, when the food van is open for business.
While Rubaine appreciated the concerns expressed, he assured that the safety of the establishment is intact.
“Everything is fresh. The oil is covered. The deep fryer is cleaned twice every week. We have a warmer that protects the chicken and chips. If we see any rodents at all we set traps. And we haven’t seen in a while. We clean the bus twice a week. We clean the [food handling area] every day,” said Rubaine.
He stated that there is nothing on the floor of the establishment to encourage rats and other pests to come around.
“I don’t have anything in here that the rats can eat. Everything is off the ground. The drinks in the freezer. All of the utensils are cleaned and put in their proper place,” he said.
At the burger stand outside of the softball field in Long Bush, owner Glenford ‘Chappy’ Maduro said the stand is usually protected by a curtain to keep away the dust from the road.
He said that they are subject to inspection from the Environmental Health Division. “They come twice a year to make sure you are complying with the regulations,” he said.
Complaints generate unannounced visits
Speaking to this news site, Yolanda Penn, Acting Chief Environmental Health Officer at the Environmental Health Division told this news site in a comment that for all of the licenced food vendors the Division inspects them twice per year.
She said if complaints come in from members of the Public the number of inspections could rise as complaints generate unplanned inspections.
Penn said that while the Division is guided by regulations regarding food vendors’ proximity to burial grounds, dumpsters, toilet facilities etc., she was seeking additional documentation and information before pronouncing definitively on the issue.
“Of course we would recommend that they set up in a place that would minimise risk of food safety being compromised but we don’t have certain things like that outlined in writing.”
Penn said the Environmental Health Division is to issue a press release today, February 4, 2016 to remind vendors of what some of the requirements were to their operating in a safe and sanitary manner.
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