A quarter of Brussels food businesses fail hygiene inspections

One in four Brussels food businesses that were inspected in the most recent round of checks from the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) failed to meet hygiene standards, analysis of the latest figures has revealed.

FASFC launched a database where anyone can search for a restaurant or food establishment - caterers, bakeries and butchers, for example - and see its inspection results, including in English, with the aim of providing transparency "so that consumers are able to make informed choices".

“In the event of serious non-compliance that poses a direct threat to public health, FASFC takes appropriate measures, including the immediate closure of the establishment concerned,” the agency explained.

An analysis from Het Nieuwsblad identified differences across Belgium and found that the highest proportion of poor-scoring restaurants were all in Brussels - Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Schaerbeek, Saint-Gilles and Anderlecht.

In Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, 49 of the 151 businesses inspected (32.5%) were given a "needs improvement" score, meaning that even after a second inspection, they still did not meet the basic requirements for hygiene and food safety. Molenbeek scored similarly, with 105 failures out of 344 inspections.

Although the poorest municipalities of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean scored the worst, more than 20% of the businesses inspected in wealthier municipalities such as Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre also received a failing grade.

Businesses in Flanders and Wallonia showed proportionally fewer unfavourable ratings and the national average for failed inspections sits at around 8% of establishments.

In Ghent, only 7% of the inspected establishments received a failing grade, while the figure is less than 6% in Charleroi.

The FASFC database also showed that scores can vary widely within the same restaurant chain. For example, the Belchicken on Boulevard Louis Mettewie (Molenbeek) received an "unsatisfactory" rating from the inspectorate, but its sister branch on Avenue Houba de Strooper (Laeken) scored "very good".

The Quick at the Basilix shopping centre in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe initially received an unsatisfactory rating, but addressed the issues and had its rating subsequently upgraded to "good". The Quick on Drève Olympique in Anderlecht scored "very good".