This Christmas will be my first away from snowy Canada and the family. Although I’ll miss the Filion family funtivities, I will not miss the cold. Rather I’m quite looking forward to seeing kangaroos for the first time, and attempting to surf in sunny Sydney.

While I generously apply the SPF, New South Wales (NSW) eateries will be preparing for new food safety requirements in the coming year. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 10% of NSW eateries failed to meet inspection standards in 2009, and as a result a mandatory food safety supervisor will be required starting next year.

The State Government will today release its first food safety report card, detailing the amount of inspections, fines and prosecutions handed down over the year.

Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said,

''The report shows 10 per cent of food businesses did not comply with the standards and required ongoing intervention.”

The minister said the Government had amended the Food Act and a mandatory food handler training program would come into effect to ensure every food business had a designated food safety supervisor.

NSW lists inspection results online where premises are Name and Shamed.
 

During a drive to Kansas City, MO I remember Doug telling me about the abundance of methamphetamine labs in the Midwest, and to keep an eye out for stray bathtubs on the side of the highway – I guess that’s where the meth is made.

Bathtubs and fast food kitchens it turns out. kfvs12.com reports that a Cape Girardeau, MO Sonic restaurant was closed after there were allegations of a shift manager manufacturing methamphetamine inside the kitchen.

Dennie Bratcher, 27, faces charges of burglary and manufacturing meth in the case. According to Cape Girardeau Police Sgt. Jason Selzer, officers found Bratcher, still wearing his Sonic uniform, inside the business after responding to a burglar alarm. Bratcher apparently worked a night shift but went back to the restaurant after closing time.

According to Selzer, Bratcher told officers he planned to make the meth on the roof, but he opted for the kitchen because it was too cold outside.

Environmental Public Health Specialist Amy Morris said the incident has forced the restaurant to completely restock the store,

"We're talking everything from sugar packets to hamburgers, to straws to the ice cream in the machines."

Morris also stressed that the store would have to be "100% safe" before the store would be allowed to reopen.

Sonic officials have offered no comment.

Missouri-born Brad Pitt (right) would be so disappointed.
 

Last night while watching the Thanksgiving episode of Gossip Girl, queen of the Upper East Side Blair Waldorf was up to another one of her schemes. In an attempt to prove her mother is pregnant, Blair offers her food and drink pregnant women should avoid: champagne and soft cheeses.

Over Thanksgiving dinner she coyly tempts,

“Mother, here, try some camembert, it’s from Artisanal!”

When her mother refuses, Blair concedes she is pregnant.

Blair’s mother turns out not to be pregnant, and Blair never explains why pregnant women should avoid camembert. Camembert is a soft cheese, traditionally made from unpasteurized cow’s milk (although pasteurized forms exist). Soft cheeses should be avoided during pregnancy as they have been identified as sources of listeria which can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

Amy has written more about what to avoid during pregnancy, here.
 

Just like in the Beyonce song (and video featuring Lady Gaga – pictured right), photos of a rat in a Toronto eatery were captured “on a video phone.”

Kyle Fisher almost lost his lunch when he saw a rat in a restaurant he frequents.
The Toronto Sun obtained pictures yesterday from a reader of a large rat lounging on tables and chairs of the Famous BBQ Express at 385 Queen St. W.

"I'm shocked. They are really nice people, but I'm not going to eat there anymore."

The Sun took the photos to Toronto Public Health and it immediately arranged for a new inspection of the restaurant, which had a green pass indicating it had received a clean inspection in October.

Jim Chan, food safety manager for public health, said,

"There isn't a major problem with rats in that area so the problem could be in the restaurant. It's not normal for a rat to be sitting on a chair being looked at."

Adam Wang, the manager of Famous BBQ Express, says he has an exterminator come in every month but could provide receipts for only 2008.

Wang explained,

"The building is old and I try to do my best. There is an old building being torn down behind us and I think that is where they come from. I feel really bad about it. It could ruin my business in this economy."

The restaurant will remain closed until tomorrow and will have exterminators come in.

This year seven restaurants have been closed because of rats. In October, 2008, rats were seen licking themselves and frolicking in the window of the Happy Seven Restaurant on Spadina Ave. and the images were shown on TV.

After seeing the broadcast, public health slapped a red closure sign on the door.
 

Currently living in New Zealand, and having the opportunity to travel around it, I’ve seen my fair share of restaurant inspection grades. Like many other developed countries, letter grades displayed at a food business are popular here, and are meant to relay food safety information to consumers.

In the Auckland region, where many districts have a grading system operating, some districts require a food business to display a low grade for a period of time after they’ve been closed due to risk to public health.

From Stuff.co.nz,

The owner of a west Auckland restaurant forced to close in May because of an infestation of mice has been found guilty and fined.

Waitakere City Council staff carried out a routine inspection of Hobsonville’s Sanjang restaurant earlier this year and were shocked to discover a serious rodent problem among dirty, unhygienic conditions.

Council contract solicitor David Collins, said,

"The officer determined there was a risk of food contamination and required the premises to close.”

"The owner contracted a registered pest control firm who treated the property the same day… The premises were allowed to reopen with an E grading the following day after re-inspection."

Council environmental compliance spokesman Alan Ahmu says the restaurant was only allowed to reopen after it was thoroughly cleaned and had to display an E grade for the next two months.

Mr Ahmu says Sanjang has just passed a reinspection and is now B grade.

I’m still waiting to meet Bret, Jemaine or Rhys from the popular New Zealand show Flight of the Conchords, pictured right.
 

During my undergraduate days in Canada I tended to grab a bite after hitting the town. Though I rarely do it now (BK burgers just aren’t made with the same care at 3am), I do recall scarfing down hotdogs from street vendors during the wee hours of the morning.

But is street meat, or any other food prepared on wheels, safe, asks the Hudson Reporter.

[S]hould customers trust food that’s stored and cooked in what’s essentially an old truck? Is the food kept in a cold – really cold – refrigerator? Is the food cooked at a temperature that will kill any bacteria in the meat? And how do the cooks wash their hands and utensils?

Alex Fernandez, a California native who sells south-western cuisine from a food truck in Jersey City, said,

“You wouldn’t believe the laws we have to follow. It’s more [regulated] than you think. It’s just like a restaurant. No different. We’re just on the sidewalk.”

Frank Sasso, health officer for Hoboken, where there are 33 food cart and food truck licenses, said,

“Both food trucks and food carts, which are generally hot dog stands, must have a stent thermometer to check the temperature of cooked foods…”

Vendors must also have a way to clean their hands. Food carts are required to have some type of hand sanitizer, but are not required to have water available for hand washing. Food trucks, as opposed to carts, are required to have a source of water for hand washing, although the water isn’t required to be hot. Carts must also have hand sanitizer in addition to the water.

Sasso noted that most food poisoning – from restaurants, supermarkets, home kitchens, and elsewhere – generally stems from improper storage or cooking temperatures.

Carts or trucks are annually inspected by the local health department.
 

Being the typical older sibling, growing up middle-sister Lisa and I used to pick on youngest-sister Julie. Whenever we watched Disney movies we would assign Julie the nicknames of the odd Disney characters, like Gus-Gus. Gus-Gus, as some may recall, is one of the mice from Cinderella. Although Julie has forgiven us for the torture, the memories clearly have not faded. She messaged me recently to tell me she has acquired a new flatmate, named Gus-Gus, pictured right (next to his Disney counterpart).

While Julie and her new pet become acquainted, a New York City restaurant recently received a passing grade on its inspection even after photos of mice in the food display case were revealed, reports NY1.com.

The New York City Department of Health has given Junior's Restaurant a passing grade, after two photos surfaced on the Internet which appeared to show a mouse in a display window (picture, right, from the source).

Junior's owner says he took immediate action when he was made aware of the problem, calling it an isolated incident.

Earlier this week, health inspectors found evidence of mice in non-food areas and issued several violations.

City health inspectors went back Thursday for a reinspection.
The full results will be available on the city health department's website next week.
 

Mmmm Gus-Gus turds.
 

Adding another peg to my places-I’ve-visited-in-New Zealand map, I’m currently in Dunedin at an Otago Universtiy café. Perhaps it’s the years at the uber laidback University of Guelph, but I prefer the campus atmosphere to that of the usual downtown internet hot spot, though it often gives me moments of déjà vu.

In another déjà vu moment, students at Ball State University may be unimpressed with the results of campus eatery inspections. Back in February I blogged about the unsatisfactory number of inspections taking place at the university, with some food locations going nearly six years without an inspection. Now The Star Press reveals that the inspections are being completed, but with poor results.

The food court in The Atrium of Ball State University's Art and Journalism Building  has been cited for nine critical and seven non-critical violations of sanitation regulations.

Tom Russell, a registered environmental health specialist at the university, explained that it’s not necessarily unsafe to eat at the food court.

"If you had a couple of critical violations come together, it could result in a foodborne illness. You do not want to have recurring violations. It needs to be addressed."

State and university inspectors also cited The Barnes and Noble Cafe (seven critical, seven non-critical violations), the Alumni Center/University Catering (two critical, one non-critical violations), Elliot/Wagoner Dining (four critical, six non-critical violations), and the food court in the student center (five critical, six non-critical violations) during inspections last month.

University spokesman Tony Proudfoot said the university is certainly not satisfied with the results.

"Dining services is looking at bringing in a consultant to help evaluate our program and identify any opportunities we might have to close gaps and improve. The consultant will be asked to identify training and procedures to help us resolve these issues."

Some of the violations found last month were the same as those found when the university called the state health department in to conduct inspections in February.

Doug and Amy introduced me to what is now one of my favourite TV shows, up there with The Office, Arrested Development and Flight of the Conchords. Summer Heights High is an Australian mockumentary following the lives of highschool students. One of the main characters, Ja'mie (not to be confused with Jamie) has transferred for a year from a private school to attend Summer Heights High public school. On multiple occasions Ja'mie refers to how povo (poor) the public school is.

Students at a UK private school may have been better off attending a povo public school after five pupils became ill this past week, reports This is Croydon Today.

Cumnor House School, in Pampisford Road, South Croydon, has been hit by an outbreak of campylobacter - a bacteria that causes food poisoning.

Headteacher Peter Clare-Hunt insists there is no proof that the bug came from the school kitchen. But nevertheless environmental health officers who were called in to carry out an inspection have "reminded" the school about good hygiene practice.

Headteacher Hunt explained,

"We have had five confirmed cases of campylobacter which is a type of food poisoning. As soon as that was confirmed we underwent a visit from the food hygiene consultant and environmental health..."

"There is no safety issue with regards to school lunches. I would say 99 per cent of the boys, if not more, are having school lunches and can do so without any fear of risk whatsoever.

Continuing,

“In terms of tracing this back to the kitchen that will never be proved one way or the other."

All the boys who fell ill at the school, which takes pupils aged between four and 13, are now back in class "healthy and doing fine". Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning and symptoms can include stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea. Anyone who contracts the bug is normally ill for two days to a week and infection can come from inadequate cooking of food to handling domestic pets. Infection from person to person contact is, however, uncommon.

Headteacher Hunt should focus on apologizing to the sick students rather than insisting his cafeteria couldn't possibly be the source of illness.