Aci Catena: closure of the business and fine of 9.000 Euros for an illegal bakery products laboratory. Carabinieri controls.

Peaceful mid-August in the places with the greatest tourist vocation and on the beaches of the Etna coast thanks to the "Happy safe mid-August" operation, which concerns the Carabinieri of the Etna Provincial Command, with the aim of guaranteeing safety for citizens and tourists during the summer holidays and in particular in the period around August 15th, with particular attention to the protection of public health in terms of hygiene and food health .

In the first phase of the service, the Carabinieri of the Radiomobile Unit of the Acireale Company, of the Aci Catena station, supported by colleagues from the NAS and the CIO of the XII Sicilian Carabinieri Regiment, carried out a series of checks on artisan businesses operating, in particular, in the confectionery production sector.

In this torrid summer period, in fact, the production and marketing of ice cream and bakery products takes on significant importance in terms of protecting the healthiness of the food components used in processing, as well as the related production environments and means of transport used by those who carry out street sales.

During these checks the military, in the Catenoto city centre, they inspected a laboratory, totally illegal, of production whose owner, a 71-year-old local, was completely without any administrative and health authorization, as well as the lack of the HACCP manual.

At the time of the check, investigators found various hygienic deficiencies and the failure to close the only door of the laboratory, with consequent risk of contamination from flying and crawling insects coming from the external environment, while two street vendors were already waiting for the delivery of the "brioches" which would soon be baked. These shortcomings have determined for the owner administrative sanctions for a total of €9.000, as well as the proposal to close the commercial activity forwarded by the military personnel to the competent health authority.

Similarly, among others, in a further check in the center area of ​​an ice cream street vendor, the patrols, in the parking garage of the vehicle used by the latter, they found a dose of marijuana which therefore led to him being reported to the Prefecture as a "drug user".

Finally, as a corollary to the inspection activities carried out, the Carabinieri carried out a road traffic control service, in the centre and on the main arteries of the Municipality, aimed at verifying compliance with the Highway Code. During the checks, the military identified 21 people and checked 14 cars and motorcycles, resulting in 4 violations of the Highway Code for lack of insurance coverage and failure to inspect the vehicles.