Public disclosure: Australian Scores on Doors video launched

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Douglas Powell

We’ve signed up for our first hockey tournament (the ice kind) in New South Wales at the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour in October, so I’ll be looking for scores. I’m coaching, the kid is playing, and Amy is volunteering.

Bega Valley Shire Council and local food businesses are being congratulated for joining the recently refreshed and improved Scores on Doors program, a star rating system based on the outcome of a routine unannounced food hygiene and safety inspection of a food business.

Speaking at the Food Regulation Partnership food retail meeting in Merimbula today, Thursday 31 July 2014, the NSW Food Authority’s Director of Compliance, Investigation and Enforcement Peter Day said the council’s decision to join the program was already proving a drawcard for the area’s food businesses and their customers – locals and visitors alike.

Mr Day said in recognition of the Bega Valley Shire region’s commitment to the program the NSW Food Authority was taking the opportunity to launch a new video promoting the Scores on Doors program during its regional visit to Merimbula.

Bega Valley Shire Mayor Cr Bill Taylor said of the 250 eligible food businesses in the various villages and towns across the Bega Valley Shire 30 had already signed up to the program.

“The Scores on Doors initiative is an effective marketing tool for each of the areas within our shire to promote the standard and quality of the hygiene and food safety of local food businesses,” Cr Taylor said.

“Joining the Scores on Doors program represents a great opportunity for them to collectively promote our shire’s level of food safety compliance to locals and visitors alike.

“I applaud those businesses that have already signed up and encourage those who haven’t yet to get on board.”

Further information about the Scores on Doors program and other food safety initiatives can be found at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/scoresondoors.

Australian food safety lab staff walk off job

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Douglas Powell

About 100 staff from NSW’s public food safety lab have walked off the job for an afternoon claiming plans to axe the facility could put the community at risk.

The food testing branch of the Forensic Analytical Science Services (FASS) is set to be shut down after the Food Authority didn’t renew its contract, flagging a move to private tender.

About 17 scientists and technical officers from the Lidcombe lab in Sydney’s west are set to lose their jobs.

Operation Trident: crackdown on Australian black market oyster trade

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Douglas Powell

There will be a crackdown on black market oysters in the Australian state of New South Wales, and consumers are being warned to avoid stolen seafood this festive period.

Department of Primary Industries director of compliance Glenn Tritton said Operation Trident was designed to deter oyster theft and protect consumers against unsafe black market produce during the festive season.

“Operation Trident is a multi-phase operation targeting all facets of illegal seafood theft – from on the water to ending up either being sold illegally in pubs, on plates in restaurants and even on the dinner table in your own home,” Mr Tritton said.

“Expert DPI fisheries officers work in conjunction with the NSW Authority and NSW Police, and in consultation with NSW Farmers, during this peak season for seafood and oyster consumption.

“The high-tech operation includes ongoing covert and overt operations up and down the NSW coast that aim to break up the black market which is responsible for ripping off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of oysters across NSW each year.”

NSW Food Authority’s chief scientist Dr Lisa Szabo said the black market oyster trade not only impacted the livelihood of primary producers, but could pose a health risk to consumers as well.

“Stolen oysters might not come from an area covered by the NSW Shellfish Program,” Dr Szabo said.

“Only buy oysters from reputable retailers as these oysters have been monitored for their safety.

“Most illegal seafood is stored in the backs of unrefrigerated trucks.

“We strongly advise against anyone consuming seafood if they don’t know where it has come from.”

Food safety in the Australian stars

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The issue of food safety and hygiene in Australia’s foodservice industry has continued to have a high profile with any story of food poisoning or foodservice businesses breaching laws, as well as programs like the NSW Food Authority’s “name and shame” register, guaranteeing it remains in the spotlight.

But around Australia, according to Hospitality Magazine, there are growing moves by councils and food authorities to shift the focus into more positive territory with the growth of so called “Scores on Doors” programs that, rather than holding up the bad operators, recognize the outstanding ones publicly.

In New South Wales a year long trial of the government’s voluntary Scores on Doors program, based on a star rating system, was completed in August and is now under review, but early reports from stakeholders are giving it the thumbs up for its achievements in lifting awareness and foodservice business food safety compliance. And in South Australia the government is gearing up to launch a state-wide pilot of a similar program following a major review of the effects of such initiatives in Australia and overseas.

At the same time the joint Australian and New Zealand body, the Food Regulations Standing Committee is currently working on developing a national approach for a food safety disclosure system.

Friendly science-based fairy tales to help us sleep

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Myths and fairy tales are what people tell themselves at night to make the uglies go away and get some sleep.

One of the favorites of regulators is that they work in a science-based organization.

The U.K. Food Standards Agency issued its annual science report yesterday, “written in a style accessible to a wide audience,” because they want to be heard by the plebes, but fail to endorse thermometers to ensure food is safely cooked.

Same with the New South Wales Food Authority in Australia, which said yesterday that to limit bacterial spread from raw meat, wash hands in “hot soapy water” and cook poultry, minced meats, and sausages until well done, right through to the centre. No pink should be left visible. Juices should run clear after cooking.”

Water temperature doesn’t matter when washing hands and color is a lousy indicator of anything. That’s why I get to be the cook at the kids’ sausage sizzles, with my tip-sensitive digital thermometer.

Apparently not another raw egg outbreak in Australia

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Douglas Powell

This is why I put question marks on some headlines: because something doesn’t seem quite right.

A story dated June 7, 2012 and published by ThePoultrySite – my favorite read while exfoliating in the bath – had this lede:

AUSTRALIA – Currently the NSW Food Authority is investigating 49 cases of Salmonella poisoning, suspected to be from consuming foods containing raw egg.

I dutifully blogged the news, not so much the research, but that there was yet another outbreakof salmonella in eggs which, given the track-record in Australia, would be far from surprising.

An answer arrived a week later in the form of an e-mail from the New South Wales Food Authority: “The information the Poultry CRC used was actually from a media alert posted on our website in 2007 – http://foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/news/alerts-recalls/alert-eggs-and-food-poisoning/.

Oops. Sorry. A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

Crabs stored in toilets: NSW Food Authority names and shames 13 Australian eateries (in New South Wales because that’s where it has authority)

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The Daily Telegraph reports cockroaches, food past its use-by-date and filthy cooking equipment have been found in the kitchens of some of Sydney’s popular eateries.

The NSW Food Authority has "named and shamed" 13 restaurants and food suppliers since December 1 for putting their customers at serious risk of food contamination.

According to the Office of State Revenue, 836 food suppliers have been fined $601,480 for food safety breaches in the six months from July 2011.

At Na Ju Gom Tang in Strathfield, food inspectors found uncovered meat defrosting in a bowl on the floor, cockroaches and general poor hygiene.

Macksville Quality Meats in Macksville was fined $2640 in December for four safety breaches including storing raw meat with ready-to-eat meat, poor hygiene, incomplete monitoring records and poor temperature control.

"I’m a small business. I got into trouble, I’m very sorry and I’ve fixed it all up. That’s what I’ve got to say," manager James Wilkes said.

Coolabah Tree manager Sharon Eaton copped an $800 fine in December for repeated cleanliness-related offences.

"It doesn’t matter what we’ll do, the health inspector passes something one visit and then jumps on something else the next," she said.

Inspectors slapped repeat offender Jeme’s Fish Market in Ashfield with a $880 fine in January for leaving fish hanging in a yard. A manager could not be reached.

The Liverpool Rd outlet was added to the Food Authority’s name and shame list in 2009 after crabs were found stored in the restaurant’s toilets. Then primary industries minister Ian Macdonald said at the time it was one of the "most outrageous cases of food storage" he had ever heard about.

Australia state urges consumers to report dodgy festive food; notify local councils

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Douglas Powell

It’s the festive season in Australia, with Big Day Out rolling across the country, and at least one state government is stressing, if you suspect food poisoning, report it.

"Food complaints can provide important information about risks in particular food businesses or food products so it is vital that bad food experiences are reported to prevent sickness from spreading,” said New South Wales (that’s the state where Sydney is) Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson

"NSW consumers have every right to expect that the food they eat is safe and while the vast majority of food businesses do the right thing, people should know that they have a right to complain about threats to their food safety,"

"If you bought food over the Christmas holidays that was unsafe to consume, or you believe made you or a family member unwell, please contact the NSW Food Authority’s helpline.

"Complaints about cafe and restaurant meals can be made directly to your local council which is responsible for inspecting retail food service businesses in their area."

Ms Hodgkinson said on average the NSW Food Authority receives more than 2,000 reports of foodborne illnesses each year. Of those, around a third are investigated further by the Authority. Others are referred to local councils for investigation under the Food Regulation Partnership.

Complaints about food can be about possible contamination of food, food poisoning, illegal sales or serving of food, incorrect or unhygienic food handling, storage, transport and preparation, misleading or incomplete labelling, spoiling of packaged or fresh food and unsuitable or unsafe ingredients.

Food safety improvements in Aussie (NSW) restaurants

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Douglas Powell

Restaurants and food outlets in New South Wales (that’s the Australian state where Sydney is) have improved their food safety standards, at least according to the state government.

More retail food businesses are complying with laws that protect consumers from foodborne illnesses, Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson said on Monday.

The annual local government activity report for 2010/11 put the overall compliance rate at 94.2 per cent, an increase of two percent on last year.

It means the rate of non-compliance has decreased from 10 per cent in 2008/09 to 5.8 per cent in 2010/11, Ms Hodgkinson said.

"It’s clear that food businesses are trying harder to comply with food safety standards but there is a small group that aren’t taking their responsibility to diners seriously. Enforcement penalties such as penalties, seizures and prosecutions are still necessary.

"We’re expecting that the introduction of the Food Safety Supervisors initiative will further encourage businesses to comply. To date 28,720 Food Safety Supervisors have been trained, dramatically improving food safety knowledge and awareness in food businesses across NSW. In addition, our Scores on Doors scheme will help to reward businesses that meet the food safety standards by giving them a way to show their customers how well they have performed.”

The 2010-11 Local Government Activity Report showed that:

Councils undertook a total of 61,046 inspections of the 38,475 high and medium risk retail food businesses across NSW that required inspection.

5.8 per cent of businesses inspected required ongoing intervention from their council – a decrease from 7.8 per cent in the previous year.

Councils issued 6,914 warning letters and 1,455 improvements notices during 2010-11.

Councils issued 1,374 penalty notices, a decrease of 32 per cent on the previous year.

Councils investigated 98.8 per cent of the 4,341 food complaints received by consumers.

The full Local Government Activity Report is available on the NSW Food Authority website – http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/audits-inspectionscompliance/ localgovernment/activity-reports/

10K bill for Australian shellfish company convicted of selling E. coli infected pipis

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Douglas Powell

A pipi is apparently a small, edible saltwater clam found in parts of Australia, not something newly potty-trained children scream as they run to the toilet, as in, “Mama, I’m starting to go peepee.”

The New South Wales Food Authority reports a Warilla company, Lavender Investments Pty Ltd, was convicted in the Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court in Wollongong on 16 September 2011 for selling pipis that were found to contain an unacceptable level of Escherichia coli.

The NSW Food Authority conducted random sampling on the company’s shellfish for sale at a fish market in Sydney on 27 May 2010.

Subsequent analysis of the company’s pipi samples found that they contained Escherichia coli above the acceptable level for the food, as listed in the Food Standards Code

On 18 November 2010 the company was issued with a penalty notice for an offence under the Food Act 2003. The company elected to have the matter dealt with at Court.

The company or its representative failed to appear at the proceedings on 16 September 2011, so the Court convicted and sentenced the company in its absence. The company was convicted and fined $6,500 plus costs of $3,500.

The Court considered the company’s breaches of the Food Act 2003 to be not merely technical but namely about the protection of the public, determining that it was clear that the company failed to carry out its obligations under its license.

Shellfish such as pipis must only be bought from licensed seafood businesses.

Commercial shellfish businesses are licensed by the NSW Food Authority.

Further information on shellfish handling is available from the NSW Food Authority at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/industry-sector-requirements/shellfish/.

barfblog

safe food from farm to fork

Tag Archives: nsw