The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) received a report from the Health Bureau (SSM) on Tuesday about five customers who after eating in a Thai restaurant came down with gastroenteritis. The five diners felt discomfort, according to an IAM statement yesterday.
The “Modern Thai” restaurant is located in Rua do Regedor in Taipa, the statement said.
The five customers had barbeque and char kway teow last Saturday evening, and they gradually started to suffer symptoms such as fever, vomiting and diarrhoea from last Sunday morning, the statement noted.
The Health Bureau has conducted an epidemiological investigation, based on the patients’ eating records, incubation period and symptoms, and IAM officials believe the case was possibly caused by a bacterial pathogen, the statement noted.
The bureau dispatched officials to inspect the restaurant immediately after receiving the report. The officials found the food was not properly stored, and the knives and chopping boards for raw and cooked food were not clearly separated, and the staff who were present appeared to have weak hygiene awareness, the statement said.
According to the statement, the bureau has ordered the person in charge of the eatery to conduct deep cleaning and disinfection of the areas of food preparation, storage, facilities and appliances, until the restaurant passes the relevant inspections.
The statement did not say whether the eatery has been closed pending the outcome of the inspections.
At the same time, the restaurant’s employees involved in this case must take food and hygiene courses, in order to strengthen their awareness of food and personal hygiene, the statement underlined.
The bureau will continue to follow up on the case and the personnel involved will be fined if laws and regulations are found to have been breached, the statement said.
