The Ogun State Government has threatened to close down some eateries and food outlets in the highbrow Oke-Ilewo axis of Abeokuta, the state capital, for poor hygiene.
It also said the promoters of the food outlets might face prosecution if they did not change.
The government has, therefore, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the affected eateries and food outlets to remedy the situation.
According to a statement on Tuesday, the state Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, gave the ultimatum after an inspection of the affected eateries and food outlets in the state.
Oresanya said the affected business concerns must immediately improve their operational hygiene to safeguard their customers and residents of the state from the risk of food poison.
The commissioner said during the inspection, accumulated fats, oils and grease and other food materials were discovered in a confined chamber, which were not scooped daily thus allowing their breakdown by microbes which releases toxic waste.
“Aside from this, it was discovered that they were discharging their untreated wastewater directly into the public drain, open holes were also seen within their septic tanks holding faecal matters, general poor housekeeping as well as evidence of rat infestation within their stores’ areas.
“Already, the state government has taken pieces of evidence against the concerned eateries and food outlets in case they need to be prosecuted for food poisoning and possible escalation to other federal agencies should they fail to correct and improve on all anomalies pointed out to them within the stipulated days,” the statement read.
Oresanya, however, assured stakeholders that the state government monitoring team would continue to enforce the state sanitation laws.
He urged all eateries and food outlets to be on the right side of the law as the government would always protect the interest of its residents when it comes to public hygiene and safety.
