Sometimes people have the wrong impression simply because they don’t know the facts. After the recent health controls and temporary closure of various restaurants in the Simpson Bay area there had been suggestions of a
selective approach affecting particularly eateries that cater to visitors, with all possible consequences for the local tourism industry.
As it turns out (see related story) a total of 1,300 safety inspections at food establishments were conducted last year. With that big a number in a relatively small country, targeting only certain businesses seems unlikely at best.
Eighty inspections already have taken place in the first six weeks of 2016, indicating a continuation of frequent and widespread controls. At the same time, four establishments were shut down so far this year, compared to only three for the whole of 2015.
That St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) reported being worried in Thursday’s paper is understandable. However, the mention of armed inspectors wearing bulletproof vests regards mostly the multi-disciplinary team that also can include Immigration, Social and Health Insurance SZV, the Fire Department, Economic Affairs, VROMI and the Health and Labour Inspectorate’s labour arm.
Only these so-called “joint raids” have been suspended temporarily by the Council of Ministers pending more clarity on what happened at Sonesta Maho, where the action was seen as unnecessarily aggressive and tourist-unfriendly. That in itself may not be a structural solution yet, but at least it shows Government shares the employers’ organisation’s concern.
The idea of training to sensitise members of the Control Units to the nature of the economy and the importance of treating guests well is always welcome, but excluding inspections during dinner, for example, or even at certain times of the year doesn’t appear to be very practical, because it’s during the busy period when infractions are usually most prevalent for obvious reasons.
One also must keep in mind that ultimately a person getting food poisoning or some other serious ailment due to poor hygiene has the potential of doing a lot more damage to the destination than the controls. If entrepreneurs are not entirely up to date with what is required, they would do well to take a proactive attitude and contact the ministry, as food safety inspections reportedly have not been halted.
