On July 20, Director of the Gia Lai Provincial Department of Health Le Quang Hung said that he had directed the Food Safety and Hygiene Department (FSC) to verify the information reflected by Lao Dong Newspaper in the article "Clarifying the case of cockroaches appearing in dishes at a restaurant in Gia Lai".
Previously, the inspection team of Quy Nhon Nam Ward People's Committee came to verify the information about the appearance of cockroaches in the dish at Hoa Lu 2 restaurant. However, regarding the issue of food safety, the Food Safety Department continued to inspect the restaurant, thereby detecting some violations and issuing fines.
"The story of cockroaches appearing in dishes is just a phenomenon. The fundamental problem is that ensuring public hygiene does not meet requirements, so the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene has stepped in to handle and punish," said Mr. Hung.
According to the Gia Lai Province Food Safety and Hygiene Department, after the reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper, on the afternoon of July 18, the unit established a surprise inspection team to inspect compliance with food safety regulations at Hoa Lu 2 Restaurant (under Gia Nguyen Tourism Development and Trading Company Limited, Quy Nhon Nam Ward). The delegation included representatives of the Ward People's Committee and Quy Nhon Nam Ward Health Station.
At the time of inspection, the Team recorded that the restaurant was selling and containing food on unsanitary equipment, tools, and materials; the drainage ditches in the kitchen area were stagnant. The authorities have issued a record of administrative fines for food safety violations with the amount of 12 million VND, and at the same time requested the restaurant to immediately stop the violation.
On the same day, July 20, the leader of the Department of Culture and Society of Quy Nhon Nam Ward said that regarding the information about cockroach appearing in the dish, the Ward Inspection Team verified and recorded the incident at the restaurant. Because it is not possible to verify where the "competer came from" and the person who posted the information online has not invited him to work, it is not possible to handle the "competer story" separately.
However, regarding this incident, the authorities have conducted a food safety and hygiene inspection at the restaurant and discovered a number of violations, thereby issuing a penalty notice.
As Lao Dong reported, on July 17, the Facebook page "BINH DINH News" posted a photo of an insect suspected of being a cockroach appearing on a plate of food at Hoa Lu 2 restaurant with the words "DUBling Protein", attracting public attention.
According to shared information, the incident occurred at around 9:00 p.m. on July 16. The total cost of the meal was 4,978,000 VND. However, the payment invoice did not include the "quet kho port fruit bowl" dish - a dish that is said to have cockroaches inside as reported.
On the afternoon of July 17, the inspection team of Quy Nhon Nam ward went to the restaurant to verify the information. Through investigation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Tram - manager of Hoa Lu 2 restaurant - confirmed the incident of a "quat fruit pot" with cockroaches at the restaurant on the evening of July 16, true to the information spread online and said Ms. Tram was the one who directly handled the incident.
In the kitchen area, the inspection team discovered that the food storage location did not meet the requirements for preventing cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods; the drainage culverts were open, smelly, causing unsanitary conditions; the food sample storage book was not complete according to regulations...
