WITH TAKEAWAY, street food and fast food returning to the menu come Monday morning, Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez is pushing for greater accountability for public health standards in the capital.

Sanitation and food quality there have come under increasing public scrutiny.

Last month, public health inspectors shut down and seized hundreds of pounds of frozen and unfrozen meat from a meat shop on George Street.

In light of this, on Friday, Martinez told Newsday he understands the concerns of many who question Port of Spain's reputation on food safety.

"I am going to seriously prompt our CEO to engage public health (inspectors) to do their jobs."

"Any premises, anywhere in Port of Spain, should be inspected, and if need be, a warning or a reprimand or an order to close (issued) accordingly," said Martinez.

Newsday tried to get a comment from a senior health inspector. He said he could not speak officially on internal matters.

But when asked if there were sufficient health inspectors to cover the capital, he said he did not believe there was any shortage of workers and that issues would not be down to staffing numbers.

On June 7, a meat shop owned by 57-year-old Vejai Ramlakhan, operating as VP Trading Ltd, was shut down and hundreds of pounds of frozen and unfrozen meat seized.

Health inspectors visited the meat shop two days after police raided an illegal scrap-iron yard next door, which Ramlakhan also owns.

Police seized manhole covers allegedly belonging to the city, as well as a large amount of copper, which the scrap-yard owner said his late father left for him. Ramlakhan was arrested and charged.

When Newsday visited two days later, police were still raiding the scrap yard and clearing items. Simultaneously public health inspectors and police visited the meat shop, which was promptly shut down.

Newsday spoke with Supt Charles, who led the raid on the scrap yard and meat shop.

He complained that the inspectors visited the meat shop only after police noticed its deplorable state while they were raiding the unlicensed scrap yard.

"It's only because the police intervened on Saturday and observed what was going on," Charles said. "I had a conversation with the chief public health inspector and let them know we need to do an exercise, because there are several public health issues that you all have to address there."

He described it as "beyond unsanitary," infested with animal faeces, and containing meat deemed unfit for human consumption.

Charles, looking repulsed, said the police should not have to report unsanitary conditions at food stores across the capital, and criticised the public health department.

"You know what is the alarming thing? There is a public health inspector supposed to be visiting there at least twice a week," Charles said. "That means the public health inspectors were not doing their work.

"The corporation has a big (staff of) public health inspectors and all of them are assigned an area."

He said it was inexcusable for the meat shop’s staff to have b