The name and shame game

Inner-city chefs show support for exposing bad habits

BY ALEX MCDONALD

First it was jitters caused by the global food crisis, but now Sydney restaurateurs have another reason to be nervous. This month, the NSW Food Authority website (www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au) began publishing the names of businesses that fail food inspections.
Nineteen eateries from the across the state have so far been listed, including two inner-city food outlets. Ark Sushi King on George Street was fined in May for not having adequate hot-water hand-washing facilities, while HLJ Noodle Box in Ultimo was found not to have constructed walls and ceilings that allow for adequate cleaning. They were fined $330 and $660 respectively.
Restaurants prosecuted for food safety violations will remain on the site for two years, while eateries that receive a penalty notice will be listed for 12 months.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the enhanced Food Authority website meant ‘the public will know for the first time which businesses haven’t been doing the right thing’.
Although the shame file is designed to give consumers greater confidence when dining out, some chefs and restaurateurs are not convinced it will have the desired effect.
Jacqui Gowan, who heads the kitchen at Subsolo in the city, doubts the website will reduce the number of dodgy operators. She believes most restaurants already abide by the food laws.
‘Every time [inspectors] come into my restaurant, we haven’t had any problems,’ Ms Gowan said. ‘They’re pretty much looking at what we’re trained to do.’
Dan Hong of Lotus in Potts Point said one of the restaurants named on the Food Authority site ‘ Cabramatta’s Bun Bo Hue Dong Ba ‘ serves some of the best Vietnamese noodle soup in the city. ‘And I’ll still go,’ he said.
Bun Bo Hue’s owner Winnie Qui hasn’t yet seen the website, because she doesn’t own a computer. ‘Someone told me the story,’ she told The City News.
Mrs Qui believes her business was unfairly targeted by Fairfield Council and feels the website will disadvantage smaller businesses like hers, particularly those where English is not widely spoken by staff.
Yet Dan Hong, who has just returned from a stint at the swanky WD-50 in New York, said Australia’s food safety standards are mild compared to those in the US. ‘In New York it’s really strict, to the point where we all had to put hats on. Here, it’s not as serious.’
Dave Pegrum from Forbes & Burton in Darlinghurst compared the shame file to getting an unfavourable review on the user-generated website, eatability.com. ‘It will be the same if people get caught. They don’t get taken off, even when they have already solved the problem,’ he said.
The system is promising enough that it could also be applied to other professions, according to Bill Komoroski of Tomatillo in Kings Cross. ‘They should do that with tax accountants,’ he said, ‘maybe, surgeons and council workers as well.’
Mr Komoroski moved to Australia from the US, where he said food safety ‘can get really over the top’.
He said he has little sympathy for operators that fail hygiene tests. ‘You’re seeing a lot of small operators [on the site],’ he said. ‘There must be a reason why they’re getting hit with a big stick. If a venue shows a blatant disregard for food safety, then giddy up.’
While the Food Authority website is dominated by small businesses, there are some surprise inclusions. A McDonald’s restaurant on the Central Coast was fined $660 for failing to maintain fixtures and fittings, and a Subway on the Central Coast was fined the same amount for an unclean premises.
The CEO of Restaurant & Catering NSW Robert Goldman doubts the validity of some of the penalty notices. ‘I would think that McDonald’s would have a fairly rigorous internal procedure,’ he said.
Mr Goldman also questioned why businesses were being named for having faulty fixtures. ‘In our discussions with the Minister, we clearly differentiated between food safety issues and cosmetic issues,” he said. “Fixtures and fittings are cosmetic. You should give restaurants the opportunity to get those repaired.’
Ten prosecutions have also been included on the site, with six of those going to Sydney’s Obo Fresh Chicken chain. Convictions were recorded for contaminated food, poor pest-control and food stored at unsafe temperatures.