Inspectors dish the dirt on Swiss restaurants

Most Swiss restaurants receive an annual visit from the health inspectors Keystone

Eating out in Swiss restaurants can be a health hazard - inspections by cantonal laboratories have revealed poor hygiene standards in many establishments.

Consumer groups are calling on the authorities to expose the culprits by publishing a list of dirty restaurants.

The stereotype of Switzerland as a paragon of cleanliness is severely challenged by the data supplied each year by the cantonal laboratories, which carry out spot checks on catering establishments.

“You don’t need to go to the ends of the Earth – to India or Mexico – to run the risk of food poisoning after eating in a restaurant,” warned André Cominoli, Geneva’s assistant cantonal chemist.

“It can happen in Geneva, Lausanne or any other city in Switzerland, even with something as simple as a dollop of cream.”

Not up to standard

The most serious risks are associated with a simple lack of hygiene.

In canton Geneva, 102 out of the 437 restaurants visited in 2002 were unclean.

More than 200 restaurant operators were given a formal warning, and just under 100 were fined.

The situation was little better in canton Bern, where every restaurant is inspected at least once a year. About 40 per cent of restaurant operators received a warning last year.

“In most cases, the offences were not serious. However, in five to ten per cent of cases, the inspectors found unacceptable hygiene irregularities, including spoiled or health-threatening foodstuffs, and premises that were dirty,” pointed out Bern cantonal chemist Urs Müller.

In such cases, the cantonal services may be duty-bound to close the establishment, temporarily or permanently. Similar situations have arisen in almost all of Switzerland’s cantons.

Inadequate training

“The hygiene problem is frequently associated with inadequate training and can be an indicator of language deficiencies,” claimed Müller. “A number of operators are unable to read or understand cantonal directives.”

Generally in Switzerland, a few weeks’ training is all that is required for permission to open and run a restaurant. In some cantons, even people with no experience can set up a public catering establishment.

These low entry barriers have led to thousands of new restaurants springing up in the past decade to cater for all tastes.

Cantonal inspectors say that there are black sheep in all categories, from the most expensive or traditional restaurants, to the new, exotic or inexpensive ones.

“Very often, it is simply a lack of interest in matters of hygiene. Everything else is more important,” noted Müller.

“Many operators are well aware of the risks to which they are exposing their customers,” confirmed Cominoli.

Exposing the culprits

Consumer associations are now demanding greater transparency.

“Every year, cantonal laboratory reports reveal that a large proportion of restaurants fail to comply with legal requirements, but names are never named,” claimed Jacqueline Bachmann of the Foundation for Consumer Protection.

“We maintain that consumers have the right to know which restaurants are involved.”

The Foundation recently proposed that the list of “dirty” restaurants be published on the internet or in the press. Alternatively, restaurants could be obliged, as they are in Denmark, to display their hygiene inspection reports at the door.

Although sympathetic to this argument, the heads of the cantonal laboratories point out that these measures would infringe the data protection law.

“Apart from anything else, this could penalise operators who have since complied with the law, or who have only just taken over an eatery that was poorly managed by the predecessor,” said Müller.

Eyes wide open

The hotel and restaurant sector umbrella group, Gastrosuisse, says more attention should be paid to prevention and inspection.

In canton Zurich, where every restaurant is inspected at least twice a year, only four per cent of all commercial businesses infringe hygiene regulations.

But Gastrosuisse points out that cases of serious food poisoning are relatively rare in Swiss restaurants.

Müller says that although the risks are quite limited it’s best to err on the side of caution.

And he stressed that diners need to keep their eyes open: “Any customer can see whether a restaurant is safe by noting one or two details, such as how clean the toilets are, whether there is a manager present, and the way the staff work.”

swissinfo, Armando Mombelli

restaurants

In 102 out of 437 restaurants visited in canton Geneva during 2002, the premises were dirty.
361 operators had failed to adopt a self-monitoring system in compliance with legal requirements.
222 managers were formally warned, and 96 fined.

restaurants II

The federal law on foodstuffs lays down detailed maximum tolerances for pathogens (microbes, Salmonella and Staphylococcus bacteria, etc.)

However, safeguards are the responsibility of the cantons, as is the specification of requirements for opening and operating a restaurant.

Some cantons demand a restaurateur’s licence, issued after several weeks’ training and a satisfactory examination result.

In recent years, a number of cantons have liberalized their regulations, allowing anyone to run a public catering establishment.