Tag Archives: Australia

Salmonella outbreak investigated at Aubury, Australia eatery

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Albury Public Health Unit was investigating a gastro-like illness in more than 30 people across the Border, more than 20 having presented at the Albury Base Hospital alone.

“Three persons have been confirmed as having salmonellosis. One suspected case has been hospitalised,” the advice said.

“All cases consumed food of a takeaway nature, purchased from a food outlet in Albury.

“A significant number of cases experienced bloody stools. Onset of the illness has been from Friday evening.”

The Border Mail reported the food outlet, located in Aubury, Australia, between Melbourne and Canberra, remained open pending the results of testing at the premises completed by health officers earlier this week.

Tests have also been done on food samples provided by the owners as health officers attempt to identify the cause of the outbreak.
 

Load Australian fridges with food, not beer, and keep it cool

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In 2004, I spoke at a conference in Gold Coast, Australia. I did a TV bit on Good Morning Australia, or whatever the equivalent was to the U.S. Good Morning America about food safety. The chef at the conference center was with me, and well-versed in food safety. He had a digital tip-sensitive thermometer in his front pocket, which I asked to borrow for the interview. One of the PR types said something like, you can’t go on TV and talk about using thermometers, we have enough trouble getting Australians to store food in the fridge, which is largely used for beer.

A survey by the New South Wales Food Authority found that some household fridges were twice as warm as they should be after groceries were transferred into them and they took four hours to return to a safe temperature.

The authority’s chief scientist, Lisa Szabo, said while most fridges operated well, overloading them with food or warm products increased the chance of micro-organisms growing, as did the age of the fridge and the condition of the seals.

Of the 57 fridges checked in the study, almost 23 per cent had an average temperature of more than 5 degrees. Almost 9 per cent had an average of more than 6 degrees. The highest average temperature for one fridge was 9.5 degrees.

Salmonella infections rise in the hotter months of the year (it’s summer there right now, and everyone, including Katie, is at the beach).

NSW Health statistics show 372 people had salmonella infections in both January and February this year, compared with 129 in June and 101 in July.

Last December 240 people had salmonellosis compared with 103 in June last year.

One fridge in the study was loaded with drinks at 1.20pm, raising the temperature from 3.5 degrees to 14.5 degrees, and it took until 5.40pm for the fridge to return to 5 degrees. The study found that ”although [loading or cleaning] is unavoidable, limiting the duration or frequency of opening the refrigerator can minimize its impact on temperature rises’.’

As fridges across the state are filled with prawns, ham, champagne, desserts and fruit for Christmas celebrations, the Primary Industries Minister, Steve Whan, reminded consumers to keep the fridge out of the danger zone – between 5 and 60 degrees.
 

Sydney eateries need to lift their game

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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.
 

Hepatitis A scare for Australian Afghani community

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An employee who worked on the butcher’s counter at an Adelaide supermarket has tested positive for hepatitis A, prompting a health warning.

The supermarket specialises in retailing products to the Afghan community.

"While the chances of becoming infected are small, we’re asking customers who bought produce from the butcher’s counter during the infectious period to be aware of the risk," director of public health Kevin Buckett said.

Hepatitis A is spread when traces of faecal matter containing the virus contaminate hands, objects, water or food and are then taken in by mouth.

The ‘ole poop-on-the-hands-oral-fecal-route routine.

Dr Buckett said employees from the Vatan supermarket had been offered a vaccination against hepatitis A and health officials continued to work with the business owners to inform the local Afghan community of the health warning.

He said 55 cases of hepatitis A had been reported in South Australia so far this year compared to just 19 in 2008.

Green Day postpones Australian gig; frontman Billie-Joe has foodborne illness

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Rock band Green Day has postponed tpnight’s concert in Melbourne after lead singer Billie-Joe Armstrong came down with a case of suspected food poisoning.

A spokesthing for Frontier Touring Company said,

"Although Billie-Joe was determined to perform tonight it became apparent at 4.30pm (AEDT) today that he would be unable to take to the stage – particularly in light of the lengthy 2.5-3 hour show the band traditionally perform.”
 
The concert has been rescheduled to tomorrow night (December 16).
 

Must love dogs – the Australian Internet dating version

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Oh John Cusack and Diane Lane; you were both so cute in the 2005 romantic comedy, Must Love Dogs.

And that’s why Jodie O’Brien and her husband, Tom, started www.lovemelovemypet.com.au, a dating website for a particularly niche clientele.

"We started to notice over the years that a lot of our friends are really intelligent, good looking people, easy to get along with. But they’re having trouble finding a partner simply because they themselves might be big dog lovers and they can’t find someone with the same passion for animals as them. Sometimes it has come down to that making a difference.:

Match-making for animal enthusiasts is just the latest service in Australia’s booming pet industry, which, in recent years has expanded from pet shops and pooch salons to doggy daycare facilities, dog sports training, pet portraits and even pet psychics.

With around 65 per cent of Australian households owning at least one pet, Sydney dog-owner Brittney Smith recognised the large market for her website, dogtree.com.au, which she set up earlier this year.

Described by many as Facebook for dogs, dogtree.com.au is a social networking site where owners can set up backyard playdates for their cuddly companions, instead of leaving them unsupervised to cause havoc at home.
 

Most Australian restaurants serve ‘crap:’ critic

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Matthew Evans is a food critic for The Sydney Morning Herald.

In September 2003, the paper published a review by Evans of the now defunct restaurant Coco Roco at Sydney’s King Street Wharf, in which Evans said the dishes were "unpalatable" and that the restaurant’s overall value was "a shocker," scoring it 9/20 – in the "stay home" category.

The restaurant went under in March 2004, and is suing both the paper and Evans for defamation and damages.

Under cross-examination, Evans, a former chef, said while he believed a bad review could have some impact on a restaurant, it was not enough to cause its demise, and was asked if he still held the opinion he wrote in his 2007 book which said "most restaurants in this country still serve crap food."

Evans stood by that opinion, adding that he was "not too happy" with most food he was served in restaurants.

Me neither. I had an artsy friend do this recreation of a New Yorker cartoon some 25 years ago (right); still hangs in our kitchen.

The lawyer defending Coco Roco referred Evans to a December 2003 review of Coco Roco by Ray Chesterton, who "thought everything was great."

"He says he never met a meal he didn’t like," the barrister also noted.

Justice Ian Hamilton then quipped: "That emerges from the photograph."

Hearty guffaws all around.

Australia: Restaurant owner sues food critic for bad review

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This Christmas I will be venturing to Australia for the first time. My flatmate graciously invited me to spend the holidays with her, and the chance to potentially bump into Mr. G (Summer Heights High) was something I couldn’t pass up.

While I search for the famous mockumentry star, a Sydney restaurateur will likely be continuing her ugly legal battle against a food critic reports TheAge.com.au.

In evidence in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, Ljiljana Gacic sobbed as she launched a diatribe against the critic, Matthew Evans, whom she described as "low life".


She said the review had been "done for a purpose", and told Justice Ian Harrison she had put on 57 kilos in the six years since its publication because of the stress.


In September 2003, Fairfax’s The Sydney Morning Herald published a review referring to "unpalatable" dishes, describing the restaurant’s overall value as "a shocker" and scoring it 9/20 – in the "stay home" category. The restaurant went into administration in March 2004.


The article has been found to convey defamatory meanings, including that the trio "incompetent" as restaurant owners because they sold unpalatable food and employed a chef who made poor quality dishes.


Mr [Tom] Blackburn [ SC, for Fairfax – the newspaper] then suggested that either Ms Gacic was "malevolently and maliciously fabricating it or you are deluded".


The judge is now holding a hearing relating to defences – including truth – put forward by Fairfax, and on the amount of damages, if any, which should be awarded.

Australian hepatitis A outbreak still linked to semi-dried tomatoes

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Hepatitis A is one of the few causes of foodborne illness that only cycles through humans – and their poop.

So any outbreak of hepatitis A means human sewage came into contact with the food (which then wasn’t cooked) or someone shedding the virus had a poop, failed to adequately wash their hands, and then prepared an uncooked food.

Either could be happening in this on-going outbreak of hepatitis A in Australia that has sickened about 130 people and appears to be linked to semi-dry tomatoes.

Victorian health authorities revealed a further 23 cases of the infectious disease diagnosed in the past week.

Victoria’s chief health officer Dr John Carnie said that so far this year there had been 200 notifications of hepatitis A, compared to 74 at the same time last year.

A study into the increase of cases indicates that more than two thirds of people that have become ill recalled eating semi-dried tomatoes, he said.

Local producers had promised the Department of Human Services they were doing their best to reduce the risk, while importers of the tomatoes had also been instructed to ensure appropriate quality control measures were in place, he said.

Bottled semi-dried tomatoes in supermarkets were pasteurised and considered safe along with any of the cooked product such as in pizzas or quiches.

The greatest risk would appear to be at restaurants and cafes, where semi-dried tomatoes are served in foods such as salads and sandwiches.

Don’t eat poop. Or at least cook it.
 

Clean the poop off hands before making semi-dried tomatoes — linked to spike in Australian hepatitis A cases

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The Age, which is the primary newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria, reports that semi-dried tomatoes have been linked to several cases of hepatitis A.

Victoria’s chief health officer John Carnie issued a warning on Friday evening (Friday morning here since they’re about 14 hours ahead) advising people to avoid eating semi-dried tomatoes unless they are thoroughly cooked.

"People who may have semi-dried tomatoes at home should not eat them unless they are thoroughly cooked, such as in pizza and quiche. Restaurants and cafes should also follow this advice.”

The Department of Health and Human Services has received 12 hepatitis A notifications this week and several people infected have reported eating semi-dried tomatoes.