Officers from the Bejaia provincial police headquarters have intensified their inspection operations recently. The result: substantial quantities of perishable goods, ranging from fresh fish to fine pastries, were confiscated and destroyed before reaching consumers’ plates.
During targeted monitoring patrols conducted under the framework of consumer protection and public health preservation, the sanitation brigade of the public safety department intercepted a Toyota utility vehicle registered in a western province of the country.
The vehicle inspection quickly uncovered a major violation: the transit of a 1,500 kg cargo of sardines in a vehicle completely lacking any refrigeration framework. Escorted to the fishing port of Bejaia for evaluation, the vehicle was examined by a veterinary physician. The verdict was definitive: due to a total rupture of the cold chain and a failure to meet transport standards, the merchandise was declared spoiled and unfit for human consumption.
The immediate destruction of the products was ordered, while the driver was escorted to the 2nd Urban Police Station for the initiation of legal proceedings.
The vigilance of law enforcement did not stop there. The sanitation unit also targeted the transport of bakery and pastry items across the urban grid. Three vehicles operating in violation of hygiene standards were caught red-handed.
Inside a Hafei vehicle driven by a 64-year-old man and lacking a cooling unit, officers discovered sensitive items, including eight mille-feuilles, eight cakes, and three cheese preparations.
The second vehicle, a Renault Kangoo operated by a man in his forties, was transporting pastries completely exposed to the open air, notably 50 mille-feuilles, 30 croissants, 30 assorted pastries, and 19 donuts.
Intercepted in the Pepiniere neighborhood, the third utility vehicle, also devoid of a cooling apparatus, was carrying 56 cakes, 40 sponge cakes, and 30 tarts.
The entirety of the merchandise was transferred to the Bejaia Commerce Directorate, where fraud prevention officers confirmed a manifest disregard for hygiene rules, public sanitation, and cold chain preservation.
The total volume of seized pastries and seafood products was subsequently moved to the waste collection facility to be destroyed.
The legal cases built against the four transporters were finalized by police services and forwarded to the competent judicial authorities. They must now answer for infractions that could have triggered severe outbreaks of collective food poisoning.