Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection of Uzbekistan has uncovered numerous violations in the operation of catering establishments (restaurants, cafes, canteens, buffets).

Recently, the Committee received around 250 complaints from consumers regarding non-compliance with sanitary and hygiene standards, inflated prices, and the lack of menus in the state language, according to the agency’s press service.

In a joint inspection with the Federation of Consumer Rights Protection Societies of Uzbekistan, approximately 700 catering facilities across the country were examined.

The inspection revealed the following violations:

- 75% of establishments (524) did not have menus in the state language.

- 69% of establishments (480) did not indicate their hours of operation.

- 65% of establishments (449) did not provide price lists.

- 62% of establishments (429) lacked parking spaces.

- 74.6% of establishments (519) did not have emergency exits.

Additionally, the inspection showed that many catering facilities failed to provide consumers with necessary information about cooking times, prices, and payment conditions, and did not indicate portion sizes on their menus.

Problems were also identified regarding the preparation, delivery, transportation, and storage of food products that did not meet sanitary standards.

The Committee for Competition Development has forwarded the relevant materials to the appropriate authorities (the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-being and Public Health and the Inspection for Technical Regulation Control of the Technical Regulation Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan) for measures to rectify the identified violations.