Rotten meat & Co.

Food inspectors now under scrutiny themselves

The food inspectors from the market office were called out over 26,000 times last year.

(Bild: feelimage/Matern)

Once again, the city's food inspectors are in the spotlight - but not as saviors from rotten meat or epidemic rice. This time they themselves were under scrutiny by the Court of Audit. Did the hygiene police slip up? 

When the food inspection staff turn up, the number of beads of sweat on the foreheads of the staff in most restaurant kitchens increases dramatically. They have a reputation as meticulous sleuths - and that's a good thing. After all, the health of the Viennese population is at stake. However, when the market office's hygiene police actually turn up once a day during opening hours, it is usually too late for flimsy explanations. This is because the inspectors' work usually begins outside normal opening hours: 

Working hours in the early hours of the morning
The working day begins while the city is still asleep. A small market stall in the heart of Vienna is the first destination. Not only is the freshness of the goods on offer checked here, but also whether the hygiene regulations are meticulously observed. But that's just the beginning - the inspectors are deployed everywhere from snack stands and canteen kitchens to supermarkets and hospitals. Every day, around the clock. "Our food inspectors are the silent force in the background that ensures that everyone in Vienna can eat and drink with peace of mind," says Andreas Kutheil, Director of the Market Office. "Whether it's ice cubes, fresh salads or drinking water - there are no concerns in Vienna because we inspect."

When the Market Office comes, no stone is left unturned.

(Bild: feelimage/Matern)

Hundreds of inspections per day
Last year, 78 state-certified food inspectors carried out a total of 26,111 checks in 18,158 businesses. What sounds like routine work is in fact a highly specialized activity. This is because every inspection in Vienna is based on a risk-based approach. This means that particularly high-risk businesses - such as canteen kitchens in hospitals or producers of fresh produce - are scrutinized more frequently. However, there are always black sheep. They are sometimes hit with heavy fines. 

Too cold or too hot - there are no compromises when it comes to the health of the Viennese

(Bild: feelimage/Matern)

The unit's reputation precedes it
The figures speak for themselves: 650 high-risk businesses were inspected last year alone. Around five percent of the food had to be rejected and withdrawn from circulation - an impressively low rate that shows how well prepared the businesses in Vienna are for the strict controls. "The companies know that we are coming. And they know that they can't afford to be careless," emphasizes Kutheil.

Our food inspectors are the silent force in the background that ensures that everyone in Vienna can eat and drink with peace of mind. Whether it's ice cubes, fresh salads or drinking water.

Andreas Kutheil, Direktor des Marktamts

Bild: feelimage/Matern

Merciless city audit office 
The food inspectors themselves cannot afford to be negligent in their work either. The City Court of Audit has now verified that everything was done properly. The auditors meticulously list everything on 44 pages and then come to the rare conclusion: "The inspection frequencies specified by the information system were largely adhered to. Comprehensible reasons were provided for any deviations. The audit of the random samples did not reveal any potential for improvement, which is why no recommendations had to be made." Kutheil: "There are things you can rely on in Vienna - and one of them is that our food is safe. But the work doesn't stop there. The inspections should remain as rigorous and efficient in the future - for everyone's safety."

Some cases also make it into the headlines
Thanks to the Market Office's relentless inspections, some black sheep have been taken out of circulation - and that doesn't necessarily mean rotten mutton. The biggest successes of the past few months:

Crabs were already gnawing off each other's limbs.

(Bild: Philipp Stewart)

• Self-eating crabs: By chance, the market office discovered live crabs vegetating between dirty sheets in a massage parlor on Wieden last September. An even more shocking picture presented itself outside the door in the van - 600 kilos of half-dead crabs, mussels without water and lobsters, squeezed between half-thawed shrimps and fish, many with their limbs gnawed off. Despite the obvious cruelty to animals, the transport regulations for invertebrates are vague, so that in the end only rotten frozen goods were disposed of.

Highly toxic rice was withdrawn from circulation

(Bild: Marktamt)

• The mega toxic cocktail: In the port of Vienna, the population narrowly escaped a catastrophe. 96 tons of rice from India, which appeared to be supposedly flawless despite an official laboratory report, were revealed to be highly contaminated by the Vienna market office. The chemical analysis revealed a dangerous "toxic cocktail" of pesticides, the individual components of which are already banned in Europe. Experts were shocked by the extent of the contamination. The cargo, which would have been enough for around one million meals, was immediately withdrawn from circulation.

The frozen food was stored at plus 13.5 degrees.

(Bild: LPD Wien)

• Bum bombers on four wheels: Just a few weeks ago, the police and the market authority discovered a completely overloaded truck transporting 300 kilograms of food - including prawns, spring rolls, duck and chicken - without sufficient refrigeration. Particularly alarming: the chicken meat reached a dangerous temperature of 13.3 degrees. The frozen products, such as dumplings, were also well above the permitted temperature limit. Due to the massive violations, all food was disposed of immediately.