French tourist eateries get hygiene thumbs-down

15 August 2008

PARIS – One in four cafes, snack bars and seafront restaurants in tourist hotspots across France is breaking hygiene rules or serving food unfit for consumption, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.

French health inspectors visiting some 9,400 food establishments found more than 2,600 to be in breach of at least one hygiene rule, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier told Le Parisien daily.

Warnings were issued for dirty toilets and kitchens and for poor hygiene among staff, while inspection teams carted away 30 tonnes of food unfit to serve from some 550 food shacks and restaurants.

Thirty-seven establishments were shut down altogether, for failing to meet basic hygiene and food conservation rules, and allowing staff to work in dirty clothes, Monique Eloit of the agriculture ministry’s food directorate told AFP.

The number of eateries caught in breach of the rules was similar to 2007, but the amount of food seized had more than doubled, she said.

[AFP / Expatica]

If you would like to comment on this topic, you can do so below or in our discussion forums at: http://forum.expatica.com/France-f205.html. (Forums require a personal profile. Sign up here.)