Morbidity caused by unsafe food is a major concern. In large areas of the world (thirs wirld countries), food constitutes a major reason for morbidity and mortality.
It is the role of the Ministry of Health to make sure that the food that the public consumes is safe, and to prevent morbidity from microbial risk factors or from chemical risk factors that might be present in the food.
Numerous and diverse places of business supply food to the population:
- Food manufacturing factories including catering services - are supervised at the Ministry of Health by The National Food Service.
- Restaurants, various hospitality business (hotels, zimmers), institutional kitchens in factories, event gardens and halls, food markets, grocery stores, dellies, butcher shops, large supermarkets, markets - are supervised at the Ministry of Health by the Environmental Health Department.
The main activity of the Environmental Health Department in this area is to supervise the sanitary conditions in the variousn places of business (mentioned above) and to guarantee that they are operating following good sanitary conditions, such as: use of raw materials (eggs, meat, vegetables) from a safe source, hygiene, separation between raw food and prepared food and between different types of food, maintaining food-appropriate temperature, compatibility of the physical structure to the nature of the activity and so on.
Supervision of the regular business operation is performed jointly with the local authority in whose jurisdiction the business is located and by environmental health inspectors at the Ministry.
In addition, the Environmental Health Department issues an opinion and approvals on planning and construction and business licensing, including food places of business:
For example: an individual who is planning to open a restaurant inside a mall or an existing and active commercial structure (in an area where another businss and even another type of restaurant previously operated) needs the approval of the Environmental Health Department at the Health Bureau for the detailed plan of the restaurant before the area can be turned into the designated restaurant. This is required in order to guarantee the sanitary conditions that are required for the type of requested business (the conditions may vary depending on the special activity of the business, for example between a Japanese restaurant and a dairy restaurant etc. or between a clothes shop and a restaurant).
