Tag Archives: gold coast

Worst restaurants in Queensland hidden from diners

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The Australian resort of the Gold Coast is shielding the city’s four worst restaurants — refusing to release details of businesses prosecuted for dodgy food practices.

Environmental health officers acted against more than 1300 food safety breaches, ranging from simple maintenance issues to serious pest problems among the 3500-plus licensed food businesses across the city last year.
Among the most serious, the council took four businesses to court between bullshitJuly 2011 and June 2012, for reasons including bad cleaning and sanitising.
The council also issued 75 on-the-spot fines totalling $41,250 for major health breaches.

The most common problems were for food not being stored at the correct temperature and poor hygiene.

But a council spokesman said details surrounding the breaches and the businesses prosecuted could not be released to the public because they “could be seen as being discriminatory”.

This tack has been tried elsewhere and the answer is: bullshit.

‘I slaughtered this horse last Tues. I’m afraid she’s starting to turn;’ horse meat triggers more recalls

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Tesco and discount chain Aldi revealed they have withdrawn a range of ready meals produced by French food supplier Comigel following horse.meat.09concerns over contamination of products with horsemeat.

The moves are part of a growing horsemeat scandal in Europe.

Down the road in the Gold Coast, Australia, a Perth butcher has confirmed horse meat is being supplied to some restaurants but has refused to reveal exactly who was selling the controversial dish.
Owner of Mondo Di Carne butchers, Vince Garreffa, told the Bulletin he had customers on the Coast and did not understand what the fuss was about.

“I don’t understand all the attention this is getting and we will not be making any more statements,” he said.

Mr Garreffa, who is the only butcher in Australia licensed to sell horse meat for human consumption, also refused to name the restaurants he was supplying due to the controversy it often caused.

The dish is rarely advertised by restaurants or published on menus due to fears of a backlash.

Horse has long been eaten in some European and Asian cultures but is met with controversy in Australia and other western countries.

Jamie’s Ministry of Food to run mobile kitchen in Queensland

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Anyone who proclaims they have a ministry – especially a ministry of food – is suspect.

UK chef-celebrity Jamie Oliver, who practices terrible food safety on his numerous TV shows, is bringing his ‘pukka tucker’ to the Gold Coast with the help of the Queensland government, running weekly cooking classes teaching locals how to prepare healthy, nutritious and tasty meals.

This is a terrible idea.

If Jamie Oliver wants to promote health cooking, good for him; that doesn’t mean that taxpayers of Queensland, like Amy, should support this shill and his terrible food safety, in any way.

It’s embarrassing.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, told the Courier Mail the mobile kitchen would help Gold Coasters make healthier eating choices.

She provided no evidence to support such claims.

Doggie dining for the Gold Coast?

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If Queensland is the Florida of Australia, the Gold Coast aspires to be Miami’s South Beach but often drifts into Pensecola territory.

A more accurate estimation may be Sarasota and, like there, the Gold Coast is set to approve doggie dining.

Florida authorized local governments to create doggie dining in 2006, and Sarasota and Manatee counties enacted ordinances in 2007.

 Since then, the concept has taken off in Sarasota, where no major problems have been reported.



Rules require hand sanitizer to be available for patrons, and restaurant staff are prohibited from touching the pets while working. Any accidents must be promptly cleaned up. 

This seems entirely sensible, as long as the rules are followed and yahoos kept to a minimum.

The Courier Mail reports Gold Coast City Council has voted in support of allowing pet pooches in alfresco eateries.

Mayor Tom Tate said the council had voted to support proposed changes by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) giving cafe and restaurant owners discretion to allow companion dogs in outdoor dining areas.

"While the decision to adopt amended food standards is ultimately the decision of the State Government, Council voted to make a submission to FSANZ to outline its support for the rights of food business owners to choose whether they wish to allow dogs,” Cr Tate said.

Sushi eaters in Gold Coast also at risk; restaurant fined $15K

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Following an investigation into food safety risks at Tampa-area sushi bars, a Gold Coast sushi bar (that’s in Australia), has been fined $15,000 for letting room-temperature sushi ride the train for hours.

Eddie’s Crazy Fish Sushi Bar on Ferry Road at Southport was caught out by Gold Coast City Council health inspectors and charged with failing to properly store and serve sushi.

Inspectors warned restaurant owner Eddie Murillo twice in early 2011 to abide by Food Safety Act regulations but an impromptu inspection in August 2011 found numerous breaches.

Today the Southport Magistrates Court heard the business did not keep track of how long prepared sushi had been left sitting out on work benches and the sushi train itself before it was discarded.

Inspectors also found the sushi bar had dirty storage containers, utensils and work areas and did not provide handwashing soap for employees.

A follow up visit in April this year revealed the only action taken since August was to clean a dirty dishrack.

Gold Coast City Council lawyer Nick Hatcher said there were no allegations of food poisoning and health officers had only tested the food for temperatures, not bacteria.