Is there an agency that is responsible for enforcing restaurant health and cleanliness standards?

Lebensmittelkontrolle? Try checking it out in 'the small canton'.

well.... it was easy to find a website for but the website wasn't very helpful. I was hoping to be able to lodge a complaint about a restaurant's unsanitary practices. Unfortunately the Lebensmittelkontrolle website is more geared towards telling me what the basis of their authorities are, and their laboratory services.

Did you know they can test your mushrooms for you, daily except Sundays, between August and October?

Most restaurants keep rats around ,they are the one which clean the place 24/7

Not even an e-mail adress or a contact form?

Quite honestly, I was tossing up whether to look a bit further. However, as you didn't say what you wanted and I honestly don't know where you live, (these things are mostly canton sections) I was loath to spend my time searching only to find that I'd wasted my efforts.

Here's something with a contact form for Zürich (rather large canton); here's an email address link for Basel a small half-canton.

I just had a visit from the lebensmittel kontroller yesterday (all clean and safe in my place), which kanton is the "small kanton"?

I may be able to point you in the right direction

Whenever i have a question about anything regarding gastro, i contact these guys....

Gastrosuisse

They will be able to give you the number of the section responsible for your area

In the Canton of Zürich it is the Lebensmittelinspektorat which is part of the Gesundheits- und Umweltdepartement, which controls all bars, cafés and restaurants. The controls are NOT pre-announced, and are done in IRregular intervals.

The LMI can close down restaurants either temporarily, giving the owners a certain time to correct the faults, or completely if the place is regarded as a hopeless case. The usual thing is that the owners in case of faults can continue but have to comply with the demands of the LMI within a set timeframe.

To contact them, enter
http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/...t/kontakt.html
and go onto the "Kontaktformular", where you can place your complaint

************************************************** ***************

If you are in Opfikon-Glattbrugg-Glattpark or Rümlang, for mushrooms you contact
http://www.opfikon.ch/de/dienstleist...dienst_id=7791

for restaurants etc in general in Opfikon-Glattbrugg-Glattpark you can contact
Lebensmittelkontrolle

Gehört zur Abteilung: Präsidiales

Übersicht
Mitarbeiter
Dienstleistungen

Adresse: Oberhauserstrasse 25, 8152 Opfikon Telefon: 044 829 82 24 Telefax: 044 829 83 38 E-Mail: louis.bienz@opfikon.ch
Die Stadt Winterthur (Umwelt und Gesundheitsschutz) führt in Opfikon die Lebensmittelkontrolle durch.

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and for other complaints about restaurants simply contact the local STADTPOLIZEI

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in Adliswil, you simply contact

Kontakt

Stadt Adliswil
Zürichstrasse 12
Postfach
8134 Adliswil

Telefon 044 711 77 11
Fax 044 711 77 14
E-Mail allgemein


Allgemeine Öffnungszeiten:
Montag - Freitag
8.30 - 11.30 Uhr und
14.00 - 17.00 Uhr
oder nach Vereinbarung

Telefonische Erreichbarkeit:
Montag - Freitag 8.30 - 11.30 Uhr und 14.00 - 16.30 Uhr
or the STADTPOLIZEI
http://www.adliswil.ch/xml_1/interne.../d613/f712.cfm

I don't know why I bother.

This only applies to those in the "Kreis 1", where the rats population is larger than the human one of Zürich including outer suburbs. There are restaurants where the female waitresses refuse to go into the cellar to get wine and leave this to their male colleagues due to the many rats. This is the case in the area between Paradeplatz-Bahnhofstrasse-Bürkliplatz- Bellevue-Schifflände-Fraumünster-Paradeplatz and in the area between Bürkliplatz-Bahnhofstrasse-Paradeplatz-Bleicherweg-Genferstrasse-Gen.GuisanQuai-Bürkliplatz --- see u http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_B%C3%BCrkli

Stadtingenieur Bürkli did plan/work so well that the infrastructure he got up lasted into the 1980ies. The vast underground structures built under his command was much appreciated by the rats and it is difficult to get rid of them. The number of doves however could be brought under control by enabling a few falcons to have their nests in the city-centre. And their speciality is NOT "Mövenpick" but "Taubenpick"

Thanks for the help Longbyte.

I sent an e-mail in English today to the Lebensmittelkontrolle. Within an hour I had a response:

"Thank you for your message. We will clarify the matter and if necessary take the appropriate action.
If in the future you determine grievances in relation to food hygiene and good manufacturing practice, we are grateful for a message. We ask, however, that you use an official language of Switzerland (in German, French, Italian)."


Oops!