Brazilian authorities remove spoiled food from hotels
With the 2014 World Cup slated to begin in Brazil in early June, authorities in the country removed expired food from two hotels. According to CNN, inspectors who checked the Portobello Hotel in Mangaratiba near Rio de Janeiro, where the Italian national team is expected to stay, found food that was past its expiration date including 55 pounds of old pasta, shrimp, salmon and margarine. In addition, 53 pounds of food with no expiration labels on the packages such as steak, sauces, beef heart, cheese, sugar and fish were also discovered.
“It is unacceptable for a hotel like Portobello to store expired food,” Fabio Domingos, head of Procon, the Brazilian consumer protection agency, told CNN. “It’s one of the two largest hotels in Rio state that will be hosting international teams and it’s storing expired shrimp, meat and pasta. All of the expired food has been disposed of by our agents.”
Portobello Hotel is reportedly taking the necessary measures in order to comply with the law. Juliana Castanheira, a spokeswoman for the hotel, said the failure to remove expired food from its stock was due to the hotel’s team meeting a high demand from customers. She also told the source that the food expired the day before the visit and none was served to customers.
Procon also performed a surprise inspection at Royal Tulip Hotel, where the national team from England will stay, in Rio’s San Conrado neighborhood the week of May 19 and found food not fit for consumption. CNN reported that during the investigation, officials found 5 pounds of expired lard, Parma ham and salmon.
The hotels have 15 days to explain and contest the charges issued by Procon or else pay a fine.
Food safety in Brazil
In the weeks leading up to the World Cup and the influx of travelers expected in the country, Brazil has been working to increase its food safety, hotel and tourist services by launching Operation Shirt 10.
A total of 13 establishments have been inspected by Procon and eight have been cited and fines for food and other violations, CNN reported. Restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries, stores and hotels are being searched for safety violations.
According to the report, Caesar Park Hotel, expected to host the Dutch national team, passed an inspection with no problems. The cities with establishments facing inspection include Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.
