Food fraud: mutton isn’t lamb: abattoir convicted of large-scale lamb substitution

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Douglas Powell

I was never a fan of lamb. But, different geography means embracing different cuisines, so I’ve gotten reasonably good at preparing lamb in Australia.

This puts me in good with faux Frenchy Amy, who loves lamb. So after the floods, power outages and cyclone remnants, there were some bargains to be had at the shops. I got a rack roast of lamb, and will be preparing a duck for Super Bowl lunch on Monday (do the time math).

The lamb we had tonight was marinated in a slop of lime, garlic, olive oil, pepper, and fresh mint and rosemary from my concrete back yard, roasted with tomatoes, squash and onion to a thermometer-verified temperature of 155F that rose to 160F (Amy doesn’t like it too undercooked).

I think it was lamb.

The New South Wales Food Authority reports today that following a lengthy and contested hearing, Tolsat Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $66,000 on December 19, 2012, in the NSW Chief Industrial Magistrates Court for large scale lamb substitution.

NSW Food Authority CEO, Polly Bennett welcomed the outcome of the court case for the message it sends about lamb substitution.

“Consumers rightly expect meat labels to be correct and not a substituted product,” Ms Bennett said.

“Tolsat was prosecuted for lamb substitution offences and non-compliance with the law over a period between early October 2007 and mid-January 2008. Meat substitution laws are in place in NSW for a reason; flouting them also puts other businesses at a disadvantage for doing the right thing.

“Lamb is a premium commodity and one of the most recognized brands in Australia. Consumers have a right to get what they pay for. That is why there are laws in place to distinguish young lamb meat, which is more expensive, from older hogget or mutton”

Ms Bennett said the Tolsat investigation stemmed from a state-wide audit of lamb identification procedures in 2008 in conjunction with complaints from industry and a Federal Senate inquiry into meat marketing at that time.

“During an audit of Tolsat’s operations, a NSW Food Authority inspector specifically looked at the branding of carcasses. The officer noticed problems with the dentition checks the abattoir was conducting when it classified carcasses as lamb. This prompted further investigation by the Authority.”

Cheese recalled after listeria scare hits second Australian dairy

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Douglas Powell

A Hunter Valley cheese company has recalled one of its award-winning products contaminated with listeria.

Consumers who have Binnorie Dairy’s Duetto cheese, marked with the best before date February 21, are being urged to immediately return the product. Anyone with health concerns is advised to see a doctor.

The announcement follows recalls by Jindi Cheese based in Victoria in the past two months for more than 100 products contaminated with the bacteria.

NSW has eight confirmed cases of listeria linked to Jindi cheese products. A further two cases are awaiting laboratory testing.

By last Saturday more than 20 cases of the bacterial illness were found across Australia. A miscarriage in a NSW woman and the deaths of an 84-year-old Victorian man and a 44-year-old Tasmanian man were linked to the outbreak.

Simon Gough, the owner and director of Binnorie Dairy said 46 units of the creamy mascarpone-gorgonzola blend was sold in a clear plastic tub.

Forty-one tubs were sold through their retail store in the Pokolbin vineyard district and five tubs through farmers markets in Newcastle. One unit equals 140 grams of the cheese.

”We are apologetic and we’re grabbing everything we can to work out how this has happened, how the cheese was contaminated,” Mr Gough said. ”This also occurred two years ago but the cheese didn’t reach anybody.”

A NSW Health spokesman said there were no known cases of listeria infection linked to the Binnorie cheese.

Food safety friend Samara Kitchener, of the NSW Food Authority, said: ”The listeria was picked up by the company as part of its mandatory testing as required by the NSW Food Authority.

New Australian guidelines for cooking sous vide style

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Douglas Powell

NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson today released new guidelines for the increasingly popular cooking style sous vide.

Ms Hodgkinson said sous vide involves cooking food at low temperatures for long periods of time and chefs need to be aware of the potential food safety risks.

Sous vide, which means ‘under vacuum’ in French, refers to a technique where foods are vacuum-sealed in plastic for slow cooking which in some cases results in food remaining raw or undercooked.

The new sous vide guidelines recommend that chefs:

• prepare thin portions of food so food cooks quickly;

• set water bath temperature above 55 degrees Celsius;

• cook food below 54.5 degrees Celsius for a maximum of six hours;

• cool food quickly in slush ice or specialized equipment; and,

use equipment that has accurate temperature control and heating capacity.

“It is pleasing to have Quay Restaurant’s head Chef Peter Gilmore promoting the sous vide guidelines which have been designed for chefs, from apprentices to world-renowned, to follow,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The handy fact sheet will make it easy for chefs to know how to avoid the possibility of food poisoning,” Mr Gilmore said.

Quay Restaurant has also been given five stars in the NSW Government’s Scores on Doors program for excellent compliance of food safety and hygiene standards.

83 sickened with Salmonella; Aussie bakery fined $12K plus; good on ya, NSW Food Authority

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The NSW Food Authority has successfully prosecuted the former Director of a Bankstown bakery over a foodborne illness outbreak which saw 83 people fall ill with Salmonella food poisoning, 20 of them hospitalised, last January.

The matter was heard in the Chief Industrial Magistrates Court last month, with the Magistrate finding the former Director of Bankstown Bakehouse guilty of four charges including; selling unsafe food, unsafe handling of raw egg products, unclean equipment and the failure to ensure food handlers had adequate skills and knowledge about food safety.

The former company Director was fined a total of $12,000 plus ordered to pay the prosecution’s costs.

“This is a significant prosecution for the Food Authority and sends a clear message to all retail food outlets that you will face enforcement action, and in some cases, prosecution, if you breach the Food Standards Code,” said the Authority’s CEO, Polly Bennett.

“It is the responsibility of every food business to ensure that the food they serve is safe to eat.

“The charge of failing to ensure adequate knowledge and skills of food handlers is an important reminder that competent food handlers play an important role in preventing outbreaks of foodborne illness. The introduction of the requirement for Food Safety Supervisor certification by the NSW Government in October 2011, aimed at addressing poor food handling practices, is a significant step in the right direction.

“This means employees are adequately trained in safe food handling practices, including the importance of hygiene and sanitising equipment to prevent cross-contamination – the main ingredient for spreading foodborne illnesses,” Ms Bennett said.

The Bankstown Bakehouse foodborne illness outbreak has led the Food Authority to work jointly with another local government to raise the level of food safety awareness at hot bread shops.

Name and shame holds Australian food service publicly accountable

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Douglas Powell

There are a lot of problems with any restaurant inspection disclosure system like name and shame, along with the scores on doors program, being used by the New South Wales Food Authority or any jurisdiction.

But the Primary Industries minister Katrina Hodgkinson, gets it right when she says, "This sends a clear message that businesses, regardless of how big or small, will not escape being publicly named if they fail to comply with food safety regulations. The public has the right to know who the offenders are, especially when the majority of restaurants and retailers do meet the high food standards required in this state."

The challenge is to make such systems better.

(NSW is in Australia and includes Sydney.)

According to AAP, a NSW McDonald’s and a Sumo Salad fast food outlet are among the latest additions to the name and shame register for breaching hygiene rules.

Domino’s Pizza in Cambridge Park, Penrith, Pizza Hut in Orange, the McDonald’s in Yass and Sumo Salad in Macquarie Park made the list due to a lack of hygienic cleanliness standards.

Coles Express in Willoughby was also placed on the list for selling out of date products.

Businesses face fines of up to $1,320 for hygiene related offences.

Another raw egg outbreak in Australia?

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Wait, what?

As I was reading today’s news from ThePoultrySite while exfoliating in the bath, I noticed The New South Wales Food Authority, the state where Sydney is, is investigating 49 cases of Salmonella poisoning, suspected to be from consuming foods containing raw egg.

The rest of the story wasn’t about people barfing, it was about a Poultry CRC project examining how defects in shell quality and structure may increase the risk of bacteria on the outside of the egg shell entering the egg. This research is being led by Associate Professor Julie Roberts at the University of New England in Armidale. ??By investigating the incidence (and significance) of minor defects in the ultrastructure of the egg shell, such as translucency, the project aims to quantify the ease with which bacteria causing food-borne illness are able to penetrate the egg shell. This involves a number of research approaches; traditional measures of egg quality, cuticle staining, shell ultrastructure assessment and microbial studies.

But what about the sick people? No other public reporting, nothing on the NSW Food Authority web site, nothing, even though Australia still has a serious egg problem.

A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia (thanks Gonzalo and Sol) is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

Shakespeare in Sydney cancelled due to a lot of barf

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Douglas Powell

It’s not often the New South Wales Food Authority is mentioned along with Shakespeare.

But the health types have been brought in after the Opening Night performance of Bell Shakespeare’s Macbeth was cancelled due to severe illness amongst the company.

Bell have been forced to recategorise the performance on Wednesday 4 April as a preview performance for family and friends after cast members Dan Spielman (Macbeth), Ivan Donato (Macduff) and Robert Jago (Malcolm) as well as Assistant Director John Kachoyan all contracted severe food poisoning. Two of the group had to be admitted to hospital as a result of their illness, with the other two members bed-ridden for several days.

Other opening night guests will be contacted and moved to another performance next week, with the season set to commence as planned on Thursday 5 April.

The downgrading of the show’s Opening Night follows the cancellation of the first three previews of the production, that had been scheduled for Friday 30 March, Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April.

Bell Shakespeare General Manager, Christopher Tooher said in a statement that “the condition of the four affected Company members is being constantly monitored. All are now showing significant signs of improvement and we aim to go ahead with a preview tomorrow night, with a second preview now scheduled for Wednesday 4 April.

"We are currently working with the NSW Food Authority regarding the source of the food poisoning."

Aussies: Meat thermometer ‘not a bad idea’

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Aussie food types are slightly warming to the use of thermometers, following the U.S. and now Canada.

The New South Wales Food Authority (that’s the state agency where Sydney is) says in a new advisory about unsafe cooking temperatures that, “it’s not a bad idea to invest in a meat thermometer probe.”

“Different meats require different cooking temperatures to destroy harmful bacteria.

“For example, a steak need only be seared on the outside and can be rare inside, while minced meat must be carefully cooked to destroy bacteria. That’s because minced meat has far greater surface area than steak and therefore greater risk of bacterial contamination.

“One way is to simply cook minced meat, sausages and poultry until well done, right through to the centre. No pink should be visible and juices should run clear.

“Using this method should ensure your meat and poultry is free from harmful bacteria, although people’s idea of what constitutes "pink" and "clear running juices" might differ from person to person, that’s why it’s not a bad idea to invest in a meat thermometer probe.

“A meat thermometer helps you make sure all potentially harmful bacteria have been destroyed through proper cooking. A thermometer probe shows you the exact temperature inside the meat or poultry so you can be sure it’s cooked all the way through.”

Color remains a lousy indicator of meat safety and tenderness. Use a thermometer and stick it in. It’ll make you a better cook.

Is sulfur dioxide better than saltpeter? Sydney butcher prosecuted for illegal additives in meat

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Douglas Powell

A Sydney butcher who used illegal additives to make meat appear more appealing has been fined over $9,000 by the Chief Industrial Magistrates Court, relating to four offences under the New South Wales NSW Food Act.

Mr Craig Sahlin, Acting CEO of the NSW Food Authority, welcomed the result and said the court’s decision to fine Abdul Hassan, trading as Green Valley Halal Meats a total of $9,000 plus costs was a stern reminder to those who flout food safety laws.

“NSW consumers have every right to expect that the food they buy is safe,” Mr Sahlin said.

“Illegal and excessive use of preservatives in food will not be tolerated. The NSW Food Authority is diligent in its investigation and enforcement to ensure food products are safe and that consumers are protected.”

An officer from the NSW Authority visited Green Valley Halal Meats in May 2011 following a complaint made by a consumer who had suffered an asthmatic reaction as a result of eating meat sold by the butcher.

Samples of diced meat obtained from the Green Valley premises were found to contain the illegal preservative sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is often used to disguise old or inferior meat. Sausages and sausage meat product also found at the premises were found to contain SO2 well in excess of the permitted level for sausages.

“The addition of sulfur dioxide to meat can make it appear redder, brighter and fresher to consumers,” Mr Sahlin said.

“Not only is this deceptive it can also present a very real danger for people who are allergic to the chemical, such as people who suffer from asthma.”

Abdul Hassan was previously fined for one offence under the NSW Food Act for adding SO2 to minced meat.

“This is a clear message to those few operators who continue to do the wrong thing – you will be found out.”

Sydney eateries need to lift their game

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Katie Filion

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.

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