CALGARY -- Alberta Health Services (AHS) has closed a home-based business in Calgary for violating the Public Health Act in regard to COVID-19 as well as numerous other food regulations.
Health officials, conducting an inspection on April 1, visited a home located at 67 Douglas Glen Mews S.E.
The business did have a food permit, but AHS found it was operating in contravention of the permit's restrictions.
Inspectors found a number of violations at the home, including boxes of high-risk frozen foods stored inside a van without proper temperature controls, insufficient freezer space to store the frozen food in the garage and there was also "evidence of food handling and repackaging in the garage."
"Strips of pork fat were stored in a cardboard box with no barrier between the cardboard and the pork," the order reads. "An open box of frozen shrimp was found on the counter in the kitchen of the home."
Officials also discovered the owner of the business was conducting food sales in public gatherings, which is in violation of the order meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"The owner was organizing public gathering to distribute food sales at the known locations of 250 Edgepark Blvd. N.W. and 20 Springborough Blvd. S.W."
As a result of the closure order, the owner was advised to immediately close the premises, "cease and desist" the practice of repackaging food in the garage and complete a number of tasks aimed at ensuring food is handled safely.
In the meantime, AHS says it has received 6,514 COVID-19 related complaints or service requests as of noon Tuesday.
Officials say 4,005 of those came from the online portal and 236 of those directly related to the rules in regards to self-isolation.
This is the eighth COVID-19-related order issued by AHS.
