Inner city roasted in ‘bad food guide’

Inner city roasted in ‘bad food guide’

35 food outlets in the inner city have been listed on the NSW Food Authority’s website where restaurants are named and shamed, with 958 penalty notices currently on the register.
Bourke Street Bakery in Surry Hills is one of the recent offenders – receiving  a $660 fine for failure to display potentially hazardous food like cheese, ham, chorizo and pancetta at safe temperatures.
Chat Thai in Haymarket was also hit for $660 for failing to store food in such a way that it is protected from the likelihood of contamination, while Ark Sushi King on George St was fined $330 for not maintaining adequate hand washing facilities.
The list, established in July 2008, aims to help consumers make informed choices about where to eat and to encourage businesses to maintain high safety standards.
Christine Tumney, Manager of Enforcement for the NSW Food Authority said the list was successful.
“To date, there have been over 1.5 million visits to our website, which was updated in March to make it more user-friendly.”
The public can now search the site by typing key words like dates, location and type of offence.
Tumney said the majority of offenses relate to dirty premises, inadequate pest control and temperature abuse of food products.
“The majority of the 55,000 food businesses in NSW do the right thing, but those that don’t, or think they’re above the law, will get caught and suffer the consequences.”
Fines relating to penalty notices range from $330 to $1250, and are all set in legislation.
More serious breaches or repeat offenders may be prosecuted in court.
The Food Authority has set up a hotline where members of the public can make complaints and Council environmental health officers do regular inspections, but broader food safety issues are investigated by Councils.
“Most people accept problems that are identified and work towards fixing them,” said Tumney.

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