A video showing several unsanitary conditions and practices at an eatery on the Airport Road went viral on Facebook Monday.
The amateur video revealed a kitchen worker of Manaia Restaurant outside near unrefrigerated food storage. The worker who appeared to be smoking a cigarette, took food from the storage to a rear entrance of the restaurant.
While doing so, the worker was surrounded by what appeared to be a dozen feral cats.
After returning from the building to the outdoor food storage area, the worker appears distracted by something beneath an adjacent container.
He then retrieves what looked to be a dead rodent, and threw it in the same barrels of food stores that he took food from and into the kitchen just minutes earlier.
KHJ contacted the Department of Health about the video yesterday and Environmental Health inspector Aileen Solaita said they visited the restaurant yesterday and issued a citation.
When asked why they did not close the store, Solaita said they did an inspection of the kitchen and the kitchen met DOH standards; since the infraction occurred outside, DOH was only able to issue a citation.
Solaita pointed out that DOH is working with the Fono to introduce heavier fines. For now DOH can only issue a citation and close a business while the business works to correct its violations.
If the violations are put right by the business, the business can re-open.
Solaita said under the proposed legislation fines would start at $2,000 for the first violation, and move upwards to $5000 and all the way to $10,000. The fines are used as a deterrent so that businesses can maintain sanitary practices.
KHJ News understands that the legislation will be introduced when the Fono resumes in September.
KHJ News reached out to Manaia restaurant for a comment on the video.
A male employee answered the phone and confirmed that Department Of Health had visited them, but when pressed for comment on the unsanitary practices, the male voice deferred to his female boss who was unavailable at the time and did not return our call as of Newstime.
Meanwhile, DOH continues to urge the public to report unsanitary business environments.
Solaita specifically asked that if you are sick from the food you ate somewhere, call the same day so they can immediately follow up, many people complain 3-5 days afterwards and that makes it more difficult to pinpoint the source of the unsanitary food.
