Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Khaleel says authorities are working to establish an effective system that would allow the public to report food safety issues.
Speaking at a press conference today, Minister Khaleel said that the Ministry would set up a dedicated line at the Maldives Food and Drugs Authority MFDA to receive calls about food safety issues.
He further said that the public can share pictures of such places via Viber and WhatsApp and that the authorities would inspect the places and take action.
The Minister noted that dedicated lines would also be established at the Health Protection Agency HPA and the reporting mechanism would also be established soon.
He said he would not hesitate to ensure food safety and action would be taken against those who produce unsafe food. The Minister said that if the person is a foreigner, the individual would be deported with assistance from the relevant agencies and that if Maldivian laws apply to such a person, they would be punished as such.
Minister Khaleel said that the Ministry has inspected 1,579 registered food-making places so far this year and that it had shut down 14 places for not obeying food safety rules.
