Food Safety Dept. introduces bacteria swab testing in 2012

PHILIPSBURG?Buoyed by the success netted in its labelling, supermarket and restaurant inspection campaign, the Health Inspectorate's Food Safety Department will be conducting swab testing for bacteria in 2012.

This campaign will be randomly conducted in supermarkets and restaurants Head Inspector of the Food Safety Department Michael Somersall said on Tuesday.

In supermarkets, the focus will be on "high risk" areas, such as meat cutting rooms, fresh salad preparation rooms and deli rooms. Checking these areas is important because bacterial presence or cross contamination in areas where ready-to-eat items such as cheese and fresh salads are cut and prepared can put high risk persons, such as the elderly, the sick and children, at higher risk.

Regular inspections will also continue on a random basis as well as based on complaints, said Somersall.

The Food Safety Department has already ordered swab kits from abroad. These are expected to arrive in St. Maarten by mid next year, following which the testing will start.

Somersall said the test will be conducted by swabbing particular surfaces in a facility and in a few minutes the presence of bacteria will be determined. Should bacteria be found, additional testing would be conducted. Restaurants and supermarkets with a high presence of bacteria will be required to sanitize their facilities in the interest of food safety.

The Food Safety Department Head said St. Maarten's humid temperature facilitates the rapid growth of bacteria if proper sanitisation is not done. He said too that inspection over the past months has uncovered the high presence of rodents, such as mice and rats, in many restaurants and supermarkets and these can spread bacteria and germs.

The Food Safety Department will also continue its joint inspection with the various departments that began in October. Joint inspections will be conducted with the Labour Department, Fire Department and Tax Department.

"We will go out together. We began in October and we took a little break because of the Christmas vacation period, but we will continue," Somersall said.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/23813-food-safety-dept-introduces-bacteria-swab-testing-in-2012-.html

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