“The Food Control Act gives us the power to inspect shops and remove unsafe products.”

That was the message from Ray Vilvil, Environmental Health Officer with the Luganville Municipal Council, as teams carried out a major operation to remove earthquake-damaged food products from stores across Luganville.

Following a rapid assessment after last week’s 7.2 earthquake, the Environmental Health Section received approval from shop owners to confiscate damaged goods from 26 shops and dispose of them at the Luganville municipal dumpsite.

Mr Vilvil said the operation focused on products that had fallen, bent, broken, or been otherwise contaminated during the quake.

“We checked products that were bent or tainted, items with broken packaging, and other food products damaged inside the stores. After the rapid assessment, we confirmed the quantities with shop owners before disposing of them at the municipal dumpsite,” he said.

He explained that the authority to carry out the operation comes directly under the Food Control Act, which gives local authorities legal powers to inspect shops and ensure unsafe food does not reach customers.

“The Act gives us the power to inspect shops and make sure customers do not consume expired or unsafe food. It also clearly states that products that are bent, crushed or tainted should not be sold, because once a product goes through that kind of environment, microorganisms inside can become poisonous and unsafe for human health,” he said.

Mr Vilvil said monitoring will continue in the coming days to ensure damaged products do not remain on shelves in shops around town.

He noted that not all products were immediately destroyed, as some businesses need insurance verification before final quantities can be confirmed for reimbursement.

“Some business houses have insurance, so we must wait for the insurance teams to verify the quantities first before they can be refunded,” he said.

Many shops in town complied fully and worked closely with the council during the operation.

All confiscated products were destroyed at the municipal dumpsite, where bulldozers were used to crush and bury the damaged goods.

Further shelf inspections are expected to continue to ensure no unsafe products are returned for sale.