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State food safety & hygiene news

The NSW Food Authority released a new Fact Sheet in December 2006 titled 'Food Safety for Caterers'. It lists the practices to be avoided when preparing food, to minimise the risk of food poisoning:

• Under-cooking
• Slow reheating and slow cooking under low heat (providing an ideal growth temperature for bacteria)
• Improper cooling
• Incorrect storage and transport temperatures
• Cross contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods
• Cooking food too far in advance of use
Poor personal hygiene of food handlers

Guidelines are provided that explain how the above problems can be avoided. They include the use of thermometers to ensure food reaches an adequate temperature during cooking, reducing portion sizes to aid cooling and staff training. To view this fact sheet visit: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/pdf/Catering_safety_tips.pdf.

South Australia

The 2005 Salmonella outbreak associated with Tasmanian bakery products, responsible for over 70 foodborne illness cases, prompted the South Australian (SA) government to implement a targeted inspection and education program for SA bakeries. Prior to implementing these programs, the SA Depar tment of Health conducted a survey designed to obtain a baseline of hygienic standards in these bakeries and the results were released in January 2007.

Products considered to be a higher food safety concern, such as those containing fresh cream or custard fillings, were collected from 98 bakeries between April and June 2006. A total of 290 samples were analysed for Salmonella spp., coagulase positive staphylococci, Escherichia coli and standard plate count. Results were compared against the acceptability criteria in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) guidelines for ready-to-eat food. According to the FSANZ criteria two products had unsatisfactory E. coli counts (≥ 100 cells per gram) and 41 products had unsatisfactory standard plate counts (≥ 10 million cells per gram). No Salmonella or coagulase positive staphylococci were detected. The SA government plans to repeat the survey in 2008 as an indicator of the success of their inspection and education programs.

Victoria

Victorian food businesses and community organisations that handle food are subject to complex local, state and federal food regulations. In October 2006 the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC) released details of their planned review of these regulatory systems. The Victorian Government, who commissioned the review, aims to reduce the economic impact of food regulations while still maintaining a high standard of food safety and quality. The review has already gathered information from the Victorian food industry, regulatory bodies, and other interested parties and round table discussions were held in December. By mid-April 2007 the Commission plans to release a draft report, outlining their plan for how the regulatory systems can be streamlined to ease the burden on those working in the Victorian food industry. For further information or to make a submission to the Commission, visit the VCEC website: http://www.vcec.vic.gov.au/.