Bacteria busted
Health Department checks of restaurants and other food sellers near popular tourist attractions reveal many with coliform-bacteria contamination.
The spot checks found unclean utensils, serving dishes and staff."Contamination can cause diarrhoea and food poisoning," department expert Anocha Charoenpornkijwattana said yesterday. The department checked cleanliness standards at dining establishments at 12 popular tourist attractions throughout the country. "We detected coliform-bacteria contamination on plates, ice tongs and the hands of cooking and serving staff," Anocha said. Just one location met department standards for toilet hygiene, she added. It will distribute information for owners and operators to help them ensure hygiene standards at tourist attractions. More than 50 per cent of establishments at hundreds of national tourist attractions have already been certified under the Clean Food, Good Taste scheme. The latest checks did not involve these establishments. Those participating in the scheme - introduced in 1999 to promote food safety and hygiene - are inspected and evaluated every two months.
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