Deja vu: Health inspectors bust Xtra House
Most official crackdowns in Belize last about as long as free food at a press conference…but at least one government department seems to be defying that trend. Today health inspectors were back in action at a familiar address in Belize City…and so was News 5.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The entire staff of the Public Health Bureau was inside Xtra House. But instead of getting an early start on Christmas shopping, the officers were hard at work emptying the stores’ shelves of hundreds of goods that were expired, damaged or contaminated.
Mark Bernard, Public Health Officer
“What we are doing, we checked the shelves and we’re removing the expired goods, the dented goods, the cans that are bloated, those that are without label, and those that have been contaminated by rats. What Xtra house does sometimes is repackage things and we don’t know if it’s as a result of rats biting the stuff.
We have been getting complaints from the public about the excessive level of infestation of rodents, and that you can see that rats are biting them, you can smell the urine from the rats, and just the unsanitary environment in the establishment.”
Jacqueline Woods
“It’s not the first time that Xtra House has been inspected. Public Health Officer, Mark Bernard, says in June health officers removed a total of seventeen cart full of goods from the store. At that time the management was warned to clean up its act or the establishment will be closed.”
Mark Bernard
“It gets worse each time you come here. It’s amazing the amount of expired goods that are here.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What is the management telling you guys?”
Mark Bernard
“The management all the time says that they will do better and that they’ll improve, so far we haven’t seen that. What is distressing, is that we come here, and as you can see, almost the entire staff is here, and sometimes, this takes us until about 12:00, 1:00 sometimes. And that’s just to itemise them, transport them, and we haven’t even talked about destroying them as yet.”
Surprisingly, the presence of the officers did not seem to faze some shoppers, who continued to buy what they needed. Many admitted, however, that they were happy to see that at least someone was concerned about their welfare.
Shopper #1
“I feel fine about it, they should do this long time ago because these people like to sell things that are expired, and it’s detrimental to the health.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How often do you come here to shop?”
Shopper #2
“Once or twice when I need Pledge or disinfectant and stuff.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So you didn’t feel uncomfortable this morning when you came and saw the public health officers?”
Shopper #2
“I do, but I don’t buy them, so I just went in and put up what I want.”
Shopper #3
“I feel insecure, and wondering what we’re getting for our money. We have to read properly and watch what we’re buying.”
Jacqueline Woods
“You come here often?”
Shopper #3
“Yes, I do.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So you’re aware of what’s been happening here?”
Shopper #3
“I aware of the first time, because I’m a health worker and I was aware the first time what was going on. So whenever I come in here to buy, I always look on the things and see what’s happening, but it makes you feel like you don’t want to come back and buy any more.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Will this establishment be closed down?”
Mark Bernard
“Well, that is the intention this morning to have the establishment closed down, give the management time to get rid of the rodents and establish some kind of control.
This establishment lacks proper management. There is a problem with refuse storage, there is a problem with rodents. As a matter of fact, the workers are transported on a trolley to go upstairs, which is unsafe.”
Bernard says he hopes the City Council supports their decision and when the store’s management applies for a trade license, unless there is a marked improvement at the establishment, the application should not be granted. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
Bernard told News 5 that there is a need to update public health laws as the current fines are unrealistically low.
