Cleaners, workers and healthy products raided 221 kebab shops in Austria

2024-08-26 13:21:20

Vienna. The recent deaths due to meat bought from shops opened under the name of kebab shops in Austria prompted the Austrian Ministry of Health and the Austrian Financial Police to take action again. Although he pretends to be hygienic with the plastic gloves he wears, he puts his hands everywhere with this glove, and also takes meat, bread and other materials, spreading bacteria and germs, and doing meat checks in businesses that have many others. Checks were also carried out on illegal workers.

In the summer of last year, a wave of illness swept Europe, and free chicken meat from Poland for kebab skewers was contaminated with salmonella. Germs sickened 27 people in Austria alone, and even killed a 63-year-old Carinthian. More than 100 patients were identified in Germany, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway and England.

Now, a year later, the figures from five days of “mit scharf” raids across Austria on local kebab stands by the financial police are even more dramatic! It turned out that almost none of the 221 businesses that were inspected were operating according to the law! The raids, which revealed a total of 272 separate criminal elements, revealed abuses from undeclared business to unused cash registers (in 48 cases these were missing and in 60 without correct invoices), trading regulations and disastrous hygiene conditions. The food inspection had to raise the alarm in three booths. In addition, false or non-existent employment records, social welfare reporting violations, wage dumping, etc. were discovered. against the 418 employees examined, of which 286 were of foreign origin. More than 150 complaints were made on grounds.

After various announcements and reports, the financial police conducted priority checks in all states between 12 and 16 August. The main offenses were illegal employment, non-existent or unused cash registers and breaches of the Trade and Industry Regulation Act.

What crimes were committed?

According to the report, 286 of the 418 employees inspected were of “foreign origin”. The crimes committed were:

• 51 offenses due to inaccurate or non-existent working time records
• 48 offenses under trade regulations
• 40 social security cases to report crimes
• 13 Offenses against the Employment of Foreigners Act
• 10 Offenses against the Unemployment Insurance Act
• 2 cases of wage dumping

Dirty molds and work surfaces

The hygienic conditions at three kebab stands were so bad that they had to be reported to the food inspectorate: dirty work surfaces and unsuitable wooden furniture were found. In one case, authorities also discovered mold and dried food residue on food, including a rotten floor in the work area. According to the Ministry, one business in Salzburg and two in Upper Austria were affected.

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) said: “Unfortunately, the results of this special operation are cause for concern. “We will continue to carry out such large-scale checks to maintain order here and protect all honest companies,” he said.

In the statement made by the Ministry of Finance on Monday, it was reported that the majority of the 221 businesses that were inspected were not operating in accordance with the law. A total of 272 crimes were discovered. The Austrian Financial Police detected numerous violations at kebab stands during a national campaign. Companies will now be subject to refunds, very severe penalties and additional investigations for many crimes. (énivatán.at)