I suspect that in every town in Ireland people have heard of the Alsatian and/or the dead cats in the fridge. If the FSAI saves restaurateurs from the effects of such urban legends, and substitutes in their place a system of running checks that include actually looking into fridges, then the consumer and the industry are well served.
64 food outlets forced to shut - Is it time to shut this expensive FSAI quango?
- Thread starter Binomial
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That makes no sense? So only locals might be lucky about avoiding food poisioning? What about day trippers, people there for business or tourists?
I prefer the idea of qualified inspection, instead of waiting for 'word to get around'.
Some of the findings from that report were disgusting, and word obviously hadn't gotten around around maggot ridden food and putrid fish in those cases!
T McGibney
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No business will survive for long on day tripper custom alone. Day trippers will not be attracted to a place if its obvious that its not prospering from local custom, even in honeypots like Temple Bar. And tourists have long relied on guides like the Lonely Planet and more recently, online user-generated reviews, to successfully suss out what is good and what is bad, even in the third world.
Also, the qualified inspection regime has its limits. The Indo article refers to a closure order being made on a hot dog van in Church Hill in Clones on the day of last year's Ulster Final. The geezer was storing unrefrigerated hot dogs in his car. The article mentions that the closure order was lifted a fortnight later but not that the burger vans and hot dog vendors only ever come to Clones one day a year, for the Ulster Final, which has always attracted a big drinking element, generally from across the border.
To be frank, anyone would need to be drunk, stoned or out of their mind to eat out of any of those places, and I don't see why public monies should be spent on protecting the blue plastic bag brigade from their own stupidity and excess. When they invariably end up puking on the side of the road, its usually the drink's fault anyway
It doesn't matter how long the business operates or has operated for - the main focus has to be on the experience of the person eating there. When you're abroad you are often eating at off-peak times, so it is difficult to tell when a place is just having a quiet period or if its permanently empty. Likewise most reputable, good restaurants also have quiet periods, especially during this recession. Someone on a day trip or a tourist won't have the capacity for comparision always.
As regards the hotdog stand. Sometimes people don't have a choice in eating at sports events etc as choice is limited. If someone has a business supplying food then they should follow health regulations. Consumers need to trust that suppliers are doing things properly, especially regards food. Some people don't have the choice to pass by - i remember being at a match when my dad's glucose (he has diabetes) went low, and we had to buy food from a stand as an emergency measure. it doesn't make him an idiot for having to buy there, he had no choice and he has the right to expect the food is up to standard. If someone has a business, their products and services should be up to standard, especially as regards health.
If that hot dog guy wasn't storing his food right, im glad he was caught. Next time he might be more careful and someone might avoid getting sick, and having to paying doctors fee and missing days off work etc.
I genuinely don't understand your argument. You seem to be saying that gradual gossip can close down places naturally, and thus save paying inspectors.
Standards can be shonky enough in restaurants as is, and i can't even imagine how lax it would get if there were no checks at all. Also waiting for enough people to get sick so that a restaurant gets a reputation just seems to be downright dangerous. Food poisioning can be lethal for young children, the elderly, or people with cancer or low immune systems.
Agree.
I don't want to have to wait to get sick to know if a restaurant is complying with hygiene requirements.
I am in the food businessover 20yrs and the FSAI play a very important role in protecting you the consumer not just from dodgy food outlets but from all aspects of food safety, Food imports, Abbatoirs, Supermarkets,beverages etc. I would hate to think what would happen if they werent around to regulate it,Like any other business run it professionally you have no issues.
T McGibney
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Next time, he will probably just get one of his buddies to man the stand, and give a false name and address if challenged.
I don't understand the point you are making? Your point seems to suggest more regulation is needed. in which case i agree with you.
This near obsession with some people to cut virtually all regulation on the basis of ‘we don’t need the cost of it’ and ‘let the market decide’ is becoming tiresome.
For example, would anyone go holidaying in some country which you knew had no food standards authority at all?
For example, would anyone go holidaying in some country which you knew had no food standards authority at all?
T McGibney
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If the Guards blocked the streets with bollards and kept the burger van guys away from where the crowds gather, they would be doing everyone a favour. The drunks could survive on mars bars and crisps for the day, the health inspectors could enjoy their Sunday at home with their families, and I could go home from the match without a smell of smoke and grease on my clothes.