Czech Officials Cite Food Hazards
Government officials issued a warning this week about eating out in the Czech capital.
They said health regulations failed to keep pace with the number of restaurants and bars that sprang up after the fall of communism in 1989--and now diners are suffering.
Reports of salmonella poisoning shot up from 891 registered cases in 1989 to 3,400 last year. Figures for 1996 are expected to be even higher, Prague’s public health chief, Vladimir Polanecky, said Thursday.
On average, more than half the food tested from Prague’s delicatessens and pastry shops fails to pass health standards, he said. The same held true for about 20% of restaurant meals.
“The restaurant and food business has become too liberal, and the legislation is full of gaps,” Polanecky said. “Anyone can run a restaurant these days, and there are too few inspectors.”
Czech sales inspectors, who supervise the quality of goods and services, agreed something must be done.
Czech Sales Inspection spokeswoman Miloslava Fleglova said the agency recently found 85% of a sampling of products from Prague pastry shops contained excess bacteria, although no salmonella was detected.
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