Italy fines businesses after water safety violations found in nationwide sweep
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More than half of the inspections carried out at bars and restaurants across Italy last month found irregularities involving the bottling and serving of treated water, Italy’s NAS Carabinieri health and hygiene police said Thursday.
The nationwide campaign, conducted from July 1 to 31 in agreement with the Health Ministry, was aimed at checking compliance with rules governing the bottling and serving of treated water.
The NAS conducted 272 inspections and collected 53 samples for laboratory analysis. Authorities found 147 non-compliant situations, representing 54% of the inspections, and reported 126 people to the relevant administrative and health authorities.
Investigators identified 256 violations overall.
One criminal offense was reported for the sale of food products bearing false markings, while 255 administrative fines were issued for irregularities involving instructions for the sale and serving of non-prepackaged products, as well as hygiene, structural, procedural and authorization deficiencies. The fines totaled about 175,000 euros.
Authorities also seized 2,000 liters of unfiltered drinking water and seven pieces of equipment that failed to meet requirements.
Ten businesses were suspended because of hygiene, structural and/or authorization deficiencies. Their estimated market value was about 4.7 million euros.
