health

Restaurants violate codes

GABRIEL RODRÍGUEZ/LA PRENSA

to eat or not to eat: In the Yee Restaurant in Paitilla, health authorities found recycled oils and sauces.971549

What health inspectors found during operations in El Dorado and Paitilla during this week might well take away anyone’s appetite.

Investigarors turned up fat used for cooking that was full of cockroaches and some meat in a state of decomposition, reported officials from the Departamento de Protección de Alimentos. They also found that the general handling of solid waste and cooked food was inadequate in many restaurants in the areas investigated. According to the director of the Región Metropolitana de Salud, Lucas López, 14 of the 15 restaurants in El Dorado visited by health officials failed to meet proper health standards. One restaurant in Paitilla was storing prepared meals in oxidized containers.

"Panamanians need to be careful where they buy food," López commented yesterday. He said that fines to restaurants range from $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the seriousness of the health code violation.

In addition to imposing fines, health authorities can ask restaurants to close temporarily or permanently if it deems that necessary.

Food poisoning from poorly handled food is the main cause of gastrointestinal diseases, López said. Last year, health officials recorded a total of 7,689 cases of diarrhea in health centers throughout the metropolitan area.