Zambia: Chongwe Municipal Council has closed a total of ten restaurants for non-compliance of the food regulations. Additionally, the authorities have also confiscated 12 mortality Chickens from a named food place in Chongwe district.
The steps have been taken to combat the increasing cases of cholera in the country. The disease is spread through the consumption of contaminated water and in unhygienic surroundings. Since hygiene is important for curbing the spread of the infection, the administration wants to make sure that the businesses are complying with the hygiene related laws.
The restaurants which were closed by the municipal council were failing to meet the standards set by the people of the country.
Chongwe Municipal Council Public Health Inspectors closed Ten Restaurants within the Central Business District. They were accompanied by the Council Police on Monday, January 8, 2024. The authorities found various Hygiene and Sanitation violations in a bid to prevent the further spread of the cholera outbreak.
The Local Authority closed the Restaurants for non-hygienic and sanitation standards, which included; non-compliance, lack of Food Handlers certificates, unsafe food preparation in unclean premises among others.
The Local Authority further wishes to inform the Public that our Health Inspectors will remain vigilant during this pandemic to contain the situation.
Therefore, this inspection exercise will continue and spread to villages where some restaurants are operating illegally.
The Local authority has further observed with serious concern the rise in selling of mortality chickens and therefore sends a warning to traders engaging in such businesses to desist from doing so as failure to do so would attract legal implications.
The affected traders will only be allowed to start operating after working on defects by complying with the Public Health Act Chapter 2 of 1995 and the Food Safety Act number 7 of 2019 of the Laws of Zambia.
The Restaurant Owners have been directed to clean their premises and later be inspected to ascertain its condition, failure to which, restaurants will remain closed.