Last year, agency inspectors visited 12,128 businesses, including restaurants, cafes and snack bars. For hygiene overall, and the state of freezers and refrigerators in particular, only 57% obtained a passing grade. That’s slightly better than 2008, when only 47% were considered satisfactory. Worse still, only 31% were found to be adequately prepared for unexpected situations like a power outage. The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain employs 1,328 people, including 556 inspectors in 11 provincial units across the country. With a budget of €183 million in 2009, it has five laboratories of its own and cooperation agreements with 67 outside labs.

The agency carried out more than 1,500 inspections in Geraardsbergen and Bilzen in Flanders, Wavre and Ath in Wallonia and Sint- Joost-ten-Node in Brussels. Despite advanced warning of the inspections, only 62% of the premises were in order. Four were closed down and 416 given a warning. The inspections took place in supermarkets and butchers, as well as industrial kitchens, restaurants and snack bars.

There were also 1,261 complaints made by consumers in 2009, more than twice as many as two years ago. That is partly explained as a result of the greater visibility of the telephone tip line, the agency explained. The agency also carried out 37% more controls in 2009 than in 2008. Now it threatens public exposure, or what Houins called “a Michelin guide in reverse”.

The food industry, represented by HoReCa Vlaanderen, considers such a move “out of proportion,” chairman Luc De Bauw said. “It’s often practically impossible to keep the warm kitchen, the cold kitchen and the washing-up area apart. I’m not saying there isn’t a great deal of work to be done, but they are setting the bar so high that businesses can’t get over it.”

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