Restaurant standards clampdown ‘may be required’
A loophole in the state government’s online ‘Name and Shame’ list, which critics say has kept the state’s dirtiest restaurants out of scrutiny, may be lifted, according to the NSW Food Authority.
City of Sydney CEO Monica Barone wrote to the Food Authority in March, requesting Prohibition Orders be made public. Such orders are issued when restaurants fail to meet health and hygiene standards. They are also given out to business owners who have not complied with an improvement notice.
According to Ms Barone the current system provided a loophole for offending businesses to avoid public scrutiny.
But according to a Council source, the Food Authority now says it would consider the changes.
In a letter to Council, Corey Stoneham, assistant manager of the Local Government Unit of the Food Authority, said “enhanced publication of inspection information” was being considered in NSW, but any such move was in its early stages.
“As you mentioned in your letter further investigative amendment may be required as well as extensive consultation with the food authority and other stakeholders such as Local Government,” he wrote.
“Given the community interest in the public register of offences maintained by the Authority the Authority is currently considering other initiatives to increase transparency regarding the performance of food businesses in relation to food safety.”
“In a number of overseas jurisdictions, additional food surveillance information is publicly available to consumers, such as inspection reports or rating systems.”
The reversal comes after the Food Authority last week ruled out any changes to the system, saying the current provisions were suitable. “If a food outlet is found to be so bad that it needs to be issued a prohibition order, it is virtually impossible to escape a fine, or worse. The outlet would then find itself listed on one of the Authority’s two online registers,” the spokesperson said.
by Ehssan Veiszadeh
