A third of Geneva’s restaurants do not meet hygiene norms

KEYSTONE

Checks carried out last year showed that one in three establishments did not comply with standards.

Serious cases are on the increase, due to dirtiness, storage problems or misleading labelling.

Of the 2,500 inspections carried out last year in Geneva in restaurants and other eating establishments, a third were flagged. And every year, the canton detects tens of serious cases requiring closure, more than what it was four years ago.

“Compared with before the pandemic, we can see that the number of non-compliances, serious cases and repeat offences are slightly more frequent. It’s true that we’ve issued a few more fines in the last two years than we used to,” reported cantonal chemist Patrick Edder on Swiss public television RTS on Sunday.

The frequency of hygiene inspections remains the same: they take place at least every two years.

Health risks

Poor hygiene can entail health risks for customers. “Poorly preserved food increases the risk of gastro-intestinal problems,” explained the chemist. Some cases can last two or three days, while more serious cases can last up to ten days.

“A particular bacterium such as listeria, for example, can pose major problems for pregnant women, who may risk losing their child,” Edder warned.

Shortage of staff

While the work of the inspectors leads, among other things, to the punishment or even closure of certain establishments, it does not resolve the issue of hygiene standards. In reality, the problem lies in the lack of qualified staff.

“We can no longer afford to hire a large staff pool. So the staff have a limited amount of time and I can’t ask them to do more. Otherwise, there’s a cost,” explained a restaurant manager who wished to remain anonymous.

Online training

To overcome the problem of hygiene, it is necessary to focus on training. The Société des cafetiers, restaurateurs et hôteliers de Genève (Geneva association of cafe owners, restaurateurs and hoteliers) will be introducing fee-paying online courses from this spring.

“For people who are not qualified, we need to provide training and cover the basics. Typically, they need to wash their hands, know how to receive goods and check and respect storage temperatures,” explained Stéphane Jan, head of training at the Société des cafetiers.

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