Nearly half of Swiss food stalls are unhygienic

In a review of food and market stalls across Switzerland, inspectors found hygiene problems at 46% of them.

The other 54% fully complied with legal requirements, according to a report published by the Swiss Association of Cantonal Chemists on Monday. The inspections were carried out as part of routine checks at markets, festivals and other public events in the period from April 1 to September 15, 2019.

Fruit and vegetable stalls often had difficulties identifying the origin of produce that they hadn’t grown themselves. For the other stalls, the most common issues were related to allergen management (22%), hand-washing facilities (16%), traceability (14%), and storage conditions regarding temperature and food safety (12%).

In total, the chemists checked on 589 stalls. The number of inspections carried out per canton was in proportion to the number of inhabitants. The stalls with problems were ordered to fix them immediately.