Two years ago, Cluj heard many stories of eateries being closed because of insect manifestations.
Cluj 24 reported that many fast food shops have been closed after cockroaches and unsanitary conditions were found at fast food places at Iulius Mall.
The article seems to say that the fine is in the area of about a third of a billion lei. Wow. But looking further, it looks more like a third of a million Lei.
Some other complaints were out-of-date food, drinks on the floor, and using a fridge meant for soft-drinks to store food or ingredients.
Cluj has had hygiene standards since Dacian times. It was a full Roman city, or colonia, which means it probably had a bath. More recently, under the Hapsburg empire, a medical school was founded in Cluj in the 18th century, and in the 19th the people of Cluj learned about hygiene to better deal with the hygiene epidemics. Barber-surgeons were banned, replaced with qualified physicians, and the streets were cleared.
So, Cluj has a long history of knowledge of the importance of hygiene. What made it even more surprising is that Iulius Mall looks like any new western shopping center. The shops, floors, restaurants, and cinema look clean.
It was unclear whether all of the restaurants inspected have been fined or found wanting. Those that were in the worst shape were ordered to be closed for six months. But they were reopened the next day, after another inspection according to Turdan News.
Alba 24 headlines, “roaches at McDonalds.” I thought roaches were a secret ingredient, that made the burgers so crispy.
Iulius Malls response has been published in various newspapers, including Ziua de Cluj and Turda News.
Before, shops like Auchan (not the one in Iulius Mall, but another Auchan) had been fined for having poor conditions.
For a little context, in another University town, in the UK, many fish and chips and kebab shops have been closed over the years due to hygiene problems. In the UK, rather than roaches, rats and mice are the primary problem.
A fry cook at a closed-down burger restaurant in the UK claims that burgers that fell on the floor were later fed to customers. (And don’t get me started on what was found in the food at Tescos).
We also have expats who worked at fast food restaurants in the US. They tell stories of cleaning bugs out of the milkshake machines, and none of them eat fast food. When they hear that you still eat fast food, they stop talking, with the motto, “ignorance is bliss.”
It is true that if you live in an apartment building, or even a terraced house, pests from your neighbours can repeatedly enter your apartment, no matter how clean you keep it. Perhaps some of the stores were suffering from unclean neighbours, and a few shops ruined it for the rest of them.
However, Cluj is meant to be a five-star city. For the food stands at Iulius Mall to be found so wanting was a bit surprising. However, it seems that over the past two years, the restaurants have cleaned up. While there are still the occasional roach finds (like one in a Shoarma restaurant in September), they are nowhere near as common as they were in 2022-2023. Or, the inspectors have grown tired of closing down restaurants.
Stiri de Cluj still tells stories about roaches in apartments. However, it looks like most of Cluj’s restaurants have cleaned up their act.
If you are nostalgic for the days when you could find insects on your plate, do not despair. Last month, the European Union decided to allow crushed insect larva to be marketed as a novel food.