INAE closes establishments selling goods gnawed by rats – AIM report

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INAE closes establishments selling goods gnawed by rats – AIM report

7:06 CAT | 27 Mar 2017

Stock / For illustration purposes only

The Mozambican government’s National Inspectorate of Economic activities (INAE) has ordered the closure of establishments in Maputo that continued to sell products which had been gnawed by rats.

Speaking at a Monday press conference in Maputo, the INAE General Inspector, Maria Rita Freitas, said that the owners of these establishments tried to hide the activities of the rats, by taping over the holes made by the rodents’ teeth.

“After a rat had penetrated the packaging of the biscuits, the bread, the pasta or whatever, the owners just put some sellotape over the hole and continued to sell the goods to the public”, she accused.

Freitas said this was a serious threat to public health. “If we eat something where a rat has been, that’s a danger to our health, and we cannot tolerate such situations”, she declared.

During the inspection of the shops, the INAE inspectors had found rat droppings, and also cats wandering around the shop corridors. She urged shopkeepers not to use cats in their attempts to control rodents.

Since 1 January, INAE has ordered the closure of 38 restaurants, bakeries and shops, mainly because of dangerous lack of hygiene. They are allowed to reopen, once the INAE inspectors are satisfied that they have implemented the inspectors’ recommendations.

“We cannot tolerate these establishments continuing to operate without the minimum of hygiene conditions”, declared Freitas.

Freitas was also concerned that legislation of 2011, which obliges importers to put labels in the official language, Portuguese, on imported goods, is not being respected.

“Any consumer wants to know what he is buying”, said Freitas. “But in the north of the country many goods are sold with labels in Arabic or Chinese, and we don’t know what they are made of. Citizens must know what they are purchasing”.

Source: AIM