Call for safe food training

The recommendation comes after The Advertiser revealed this week the State Government was investigating naming and shaming unhygienic food outlets.

The state branch of the Australian Institute of Environmental Health, yesterday said the move, if used in isolation, would be "ineffective".

Councils publish the number of complaints they receive and the number of inspections carried out but refuse to identify premises fined or issued with improvement orders.

The institute released a five-point plan for improving public health and safety in food premises which also seeks:

A REQUIREMENT all food businesses must be registered.

INCREASED random inspections.

A REVIEW of penalties for businesses found to be breaching food standards.

MORE resources for policing compliance levels.

Adelaide City Council chief executive Stuart Moseley yesterday rejected suggestions from restaurateurs that the council's six health inspectors were not enough to properly police the industry.

"It's not about how many inspectors we have but how effectively we enforce health standards and we are clearly doing better than the metropolitan average," he said.

Mr Moseley said latest figures showed food premises in the city faced a 73 per cent chance of being inspected annually, compared with 41 per cent for those located in 14 other metropolitan councils.

"I am confident people can enjoy a safe entertainment experience in the city," he said.

While his office later admitted the council had not prosecuted any food premises for 18 months, Mr Moseley defended its inspection regimen as "rigorous".

He was happy to "sit down and explain it" to Independent MP Bob Such and Restaurant and Catering chief Sally Neville, who expressed concern about lack of council resources to enforce food standards.

Health Minister John Hill has asked his department to investigate options to name and shame offending premises which he can circulate for public consultation.

Source: The Advertiser