Four restaurants ordered to temporarily close after failing HCC inspections

At least four restaurants in Honiara have been ordered to temporarily close after they received poor grades on city health inspections.

Honiara City Council Chief Health Inspector George Titiulu said there are three main aspects of the restaurant inspections, which began last Friday and will continue for two weeks.

“What we are trying to check for is inside places where people eat, the storage areas and production and service area — what it has in terms of hygiene and cleaning facilities,” he said. “We also look at building structure and areas in the building where the food is prepared and displayed for the public.”

Mr Titiulu said the inspections found that many establishments do not meet the health regulations for food temperature.

“What we observed is that in most of the places, the food warmers are below standard,” he said.

If a restaurant receives a low grade on its inspection, the city council’s first action is to serve the proprietor with a clean-up notice.

A temporary closure order will follow if they do not comply with the notice, and high-risk establishments will be inspected frequently.

Mr Titiulu said restaurants that are ordered to temporarily close can take corrective actions recommended in the inspection report and potentially reopen.

By Allen Waitara