The president of the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ), Vitor Pataco, described on Tuesday as “an unfortunate social alarm” several public reactions questioning hygiene and health in the premises of the Centro Alto Rendimento do Jamor (CARJ) in Oeiras.
“This is an unfortunate social anxiety that is being created that is unnecessary, unjustified and we can’t even understand it. It was created on December 20 by the president of Sport Alges and Dafundo, mixing several topics (…), all different, and that they have no relationship with each other,” assured the leader, addressing Lusa.
Vitor Pataco explained that it was a case of “suspected food poisoning,” a cockroach infestation and another bedbug infestation, as well as a visit from an ASAE (Food and Economic Security Administration) representative “following an anonymous report,” whose inspection report, with the corresponding recommendations, he says he still doesn’t know.
The IPDJ president says he activated a safety protocol so that the food control laboratory could check for any anomalies and concluded that “no food associated with possible poisoning was served”: he added that 70 thousand a year is applied once.
He acknowledged an “additional appearance of cockroaches” leading to nine more pest control operations, with the phenomenon having “nothing to do with the food issue.”
Regarding the bedbugs, he emphasizes that it was an “isolated situation” that occurred in one room and that a certified company took care of the pest control, the athlete was transferred to another room, the same as in the neighboring houses, in such a development that accommodates 70 athletes.
“As for ASAE, it made the visit following a complaint. We still don’t have a report, but naturally recommendations will be interpreted as an opportunity for improvement, and that’s what we will do. This did not cause any unusual concern to question the facilities or hygiene,” he said.
It guarantees athletes and their parents, as well as coaches and others involved in competitions, that they can be “peaceful and safe”, since the IPDJ is the first organization interested in providing “the best athletes in Portugal” with excellent conditions.
To reassure and provide clarity to all involved, a meeting will be held on Thursday to address all these issues “with full transparency.”
He said that on Monday, at the National Sports Council meeting, he had the opportunity to clarify the situation with the various partners who oversee the various associations, federations and bodies on the issue, assuring that they are “calm and will monitor the situation” and that the IPDJ “ does not discount” any of the incidents.
“We are concerned about the safety of all plans and want peace of mind, so we are also engaging public health authorities to help us understand whether we are acting appropriately,” he concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.