A MARKET in Yanluo Subdistrict, Bao’an District, has topped the district for sanitation three months in a row in an evaluation recently carried out by the district’s urban management bureau.

The evaluation looked at three aspects of the markets, including standard management procedures, environment and sanitation management, and food safety management. After the investigation, the markets were divided into six classes according to the number of stalls inside.

According to the evaluation, which secretly assessed 102 markets in all subdistricts in May, a market in Yanluo received a five-star rating, while 17 markets received four stars, 31 markets were given three stars, and 42 markets were qualified. Eleven markets were omitted from the research due to current upgrading and rebuilding.

A market in Shiyan Sub-district was ranked second, after previously being ranked eighth. Markets in Xixiang and Shajing subdistricts have been at the bottom of the list for three straight months.

A handful of issues were discovered by the evaluation team. For instance, live poultry was found being sold in markets in Shajing and Xinqiao subdistricts. Several markets in Fuhai and Shajing subdistricts were illegally occupying public space, while some markets didn’t have dustbins or the ones they had didn’t utilize disposable bags.

The evaluation also collected public opinion on the markets. “This evaluation is quite significant as the sanitation of the markets directly influences our health,” a resident surnamed Liu said after completing a questionnaire distributed by the bureau.

The Bao’an District Urban Management Bureau will evaluate the markets on a monthly basis and try to find out why some markets are lagging further behind than others.

(Cui Chenxin)