Food inspection officials have started to install video
surveillance devices in restaurant kitchens in Beijing's Haidian
District, in a bid to improve sanitation levels and food security
for the public, the Beijing Youth Daily reported
Saturday.
The Bureau for Health Inspection and Supervision of Beijing
Haidian District has installed the first batch of electric eyes in
the kitchens of seven food-processing companies. The devices, which
allow inspectors to monitor the live operation of the kitchens from
a distance, will be installed in 100 restaurants in the near
future.
Officials at the district's sanitation authority said the
electronic eyes should be mounted over sinks, stoves,
food-preparation areas and dish-washing areas. Televisions
connected to the monitors will be placed in dining areas so that
customers can watch what's going on in the kitchens.
Officials said they will retain the video recordings for one
month and use them to track sources of food safety problems.
Some customers praised the installation of the electronic eyes,
saying they will ensure that restaurants comply with health and
sanitation standards and let diners know which kitchens are clean
and whether food preparers are wearing masks and caps.
Others said that when they dine outside, they would not bother
watching the food-prep operations in smoky kitchens, which might
affect their appetites. They said sanitation authorities should
intensify their supervision efforts by imposing heavy fines on
substandard restaurants.
What do restaurants in Haidian think of this new policy? Having
electric eyes monitor their kitchens makes some restaurant owners
quite uneasy. Many worry that the devices will reveal their secret
recipe ingredients to others, damage their competitiveness and
cause them to lose money. Other said they would prefer setting up a
grading system for food sanitation management instead.
According to the report, each restaurant may have to pay up to
8,000 yuan (US$1,080) to install and maintain the electronic
surveillance devices. Such a considerable amount of money makes it
more difficult for sanitation officials to promote the use of the
devices.
Officials at the sanitation bureau in Haidian said they hope the
government will introduce relevant policies, making "kitchen
transparency" a compulsory practice that conforms to sanitation
management. They said if the district carried out such a measure on
its own, it might be difficult to promote the use of the electronic
eyes all over the city, considering the cost.
China enacted regulations on video surveillance for public
security on January 25, but they do not require that electronic
eyes be placed in restaurants.
(CRI November 11, 2007)