Mick Hartley

North Korea's dog days (previously) are not going well:

A state-run dog meat restaurant in North Korea has been shut down after about 10 customers suffered food poisoning during the peak summer dining season, with authorities blaming the incident on inadequate water and electricity supplies rather than just poor sanitation.

The outbreak occurred at a restaurant operated by Sunchon city’s commercial department in South Pyongan province during sambok, the traditional three hottest days of summer when dog meat consumption typically soars. All customers who ate at the establishment on July 12 developed severe symptoms within hours, including stomach pain, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting….

The restaurant near Sunchon’s market was immediately ordered to close the following day as city officials launched a joint investigation with the hygiene quarantine office to determine the cause.

The investigation revealed systemic problems beyond basic food safety violations. Customers reported that the dog meat gave off a strong odor, while authorities discovered that ingredients requiring refrigeration were left at room temperature and eating utensils weren’t properly cleaned due to frequent water outages.

Restaurant employees told investigators they had to fetch water from a distant well because of inadequate municipal supply. Even more problematic, they were forced to use a refrigerator at another business—a 30-minute walk away—because their own facility lacked sufficient electricity to operate cooling equipment.

Well, you can see the problem….