News: Roundup of food news from June and July
The Food Advisor team would like to send another thank you to our users for tolerating the various issues with the app over the past couple of months. The most recent update (check the App Store on your iPhone for it if you haven’t already) seems to have resolved the issues, so – TOUCH WOOD – things are back on track. Thanks for being patient with us.
Since Food Advisor has been “off the air”, it’s time to start catching up on the some of the food news which caught our attention over the past couple of months:
- The NSW Food Authority warned food businesses to take extra care during the peak viral gastro season of winter. Staff must tell employers when they are sick and employers must not allow or request sick staff to work  - all illegal under the Food Standards Code. The Food Authority also launched a hotline – 1300 552 406 – for members of the public or employees can anonymously report businesses they have such concerns about. The basic message is: “Don’t cook when you’re crook.“
- ABC Rural reports GM canola plantings in NSW have doubled this year. Monsanto says more than 100 farmers are growing it over 23,000ha.
- Meanwhile, there is a boom in GM canola plantings in WA with more than 70,000ha of GM crops sown in WA this year, more than double Monsanto’s earlier estimates. There are around 300 farmers who are first-time growers of GM canola in WA this year. According to Tom Breen, Monsanto’s WA business manager, “It just proves that WA farmers are extremely innovative and keen to be early adopters of new technology where they see tangible benefits to their operations.”
- The Victorian State Government commenced a register of food safety regulation convictions. The register launched on 1 July 2010, and has no convictions listed at the time of writing.
- There have been a number of fines issued to food businesses around the country for various breaches of hygiene and safety regulations. Here are some of them:
- Kingston (Vic) eateries were subject to a recent audit with some very unappetising results – insects in biscuits, high levels of gastro bacteria and a screw head in a pie (!) were among the discoveries. There were no prosecutions.
- A NSW Food Authority investigation uncovered backyard butchers in Sydney. In some cases the products were available for sale in delis, butchers and farmers markets.
- A Dickson, ACT, restaurant was fined for defrosting meat and preparing vegetables in its carpark. Further inspections inside the restaurant uncovered some worse things. The proprietor was convicted and fined $500 for each charge.
- Following a series of warnings, a $30,000 fine was handed down to a Darlinghurst, NSW, restaurant for 24 offences including failure to deal with food waste, dirt and grease and evidence of cockroaches in food containers.
- Smallgoods producer Primo received a record fine of $240,000 for labelling and selling Canadian & Dutch pork products as Australian made. The safety of the products were not in question; the prosecution was over misleading and deceptive labelling.
- Do you follow the five-second rule at all? If you do, there’s bad news for you. Scientists in the USA found that salmonella and other bacteria can live up to four weeks on dry surfaces and be transferred to food during that time.
- Take one part hilarity, two parts disbelief and a bucketloads of revulsion to get USA Center for Science in the Public Interest’s announces the worst high calorie and poor nutrition meals.
And stay tuned for more news articles!
July 20, 2010
Tags: food hygiene & safety, food production, GE/GM, news article, roundup Posted in: News
Leave a Reply