Over 300 grocery shops in capital Male have been found in violation of regulations and been issued warnings, announced Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA).
In a statement released Thursday, MFDA stated that their operation, which commenced May 25, uncovered several stores in violation of regulations in capital Male. Violations include:
Selling of expired foods
Poor hygiene of shops
Potential for contamination in storage of frozen foods (eg: storing chicken and butter together)
Poor pest control of rats and cats
Poultry packaging without sufficient resources
Selling of dented cans
Storage food disregarding the allotted temperatures
Labelling expiring dates on local products without policy
Poor packaging of some local products
Selling of food without proper labels
Poor awareness of hygiene among staff
MFDA said in their statement that they had issued warnings to the shops to correct their violations as such actions compromises the safety and health conditions of food.
In addition to shops, restaurants and cafes are also subjected to customary inspections. In certain cases, some violators have been closed down in the past.