A Federal Government survey has discovered bacteria levels in some raw meats to be higher than expected, according to The Australian, which claimed the results of the survey had been withheld due to concerns about the potential impact on Christmas sales. The survey, did, however, establish ’superbugs’ were not yet prevalent in Australian food. Escherichia coli, commonly known as E.coli, was found in 69 per cent of poultry, 29.7 per cent of beef and 18.1 per cent of pork, but only 1 per... ...Read more »
A Chinese restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne has been fined over $12,000 for filthy premises.North Sydney Council successfully prosecuted the Canton BBQ House on Military Road for five serious breaches of food laws in May last year. “This is yet another example of councils acting appropriately to safeguard consumers,” NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said. “I congratulate councils for taking on their new responsibilities as food safety regulators, obliging... ...Read more »
A couple has been fined $42,000 for causing the worst food poisoning outbreak in NSW - which lead to 319 people falling ill in 2007.Long and Linda Fou, former owners of the Homebush French Golden Hot Bakery, each pleaded guilty to four charges of handling and selling unsafe food in March 2007. “This case is a wake-up call to all food businesses - especially those who cut corners, ignore food safety laws and put consumers’ health at risk,” NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald... ...Read more »
Bill Marler, food safety advocate and managing partner of American foodborne illness law firm Marler Clark, asked the food safety community to weigh in on the most pressing food safety challenges for the coming year. The most prominent are listed below: 1. Globalisation: More international recalls and outbreaks due to expanding globalisation of the food supply and the challenges of oversight/infrastructure in developing countries. International challenges probably deserve a list of their own, but... ...Read more »
Two Western Sydney butchers have copped fines totalling more than $15,500 for attempting to rip off consumers by disguising sub-standard meat, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said today.The NSW Food Authority has won prosecutions against the two butchers totalling nine breaches for illegally “dosing” meat with the preservative sulphur dioxide (SO2). “This chemical is used to mask old or poor quality meat to make it look redder and more appealing to consumers, but the practice... ...Read more »
The perception of the safety of China’s food has taken a hit this year following the widely discussed melamine scandal, which resulted in almost 300,000 infants falling ill and sparked a spate of recalls worldwide. In response to the decline of consumer confidence in the food supply, nine Chinese departments will cooperate in a four-month, nationwide investigation to find illegal additives in food, according to the official state news agency Xinhua. The ministries of Health, Industry and Information... ...Read more »
Following a second inconclusive DNA test of a faecal sample, the NSW Food Authority has closed its investigation into the Coogee Bay Hotel ice cream contamination scandal, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald advised today.”While the analysis of a second sample supplied by the complainant showed a partial profile of female DNA, this is ultimately no help in determining who may have contaminated the food,” Minister Macdonald said. “Scientific advice is that 1 in 59 people have... ...Read more »
The Irish Government announced on 6 December 2008 that dioxins had been detected in pork and that it had recalled all pork and pork products as a precautionary measure due to the difficulty in establishing which slaughtered pigs had been fed dioxin contaminated feed. Preliminary advice is that the feed contamination incident started in September this year. Dioxins are environmental contaminants that may be formed during combustion processes and may be present in industrial wastes. Irish authorities... ...Read more »
A NSW takeaway fined $1,100 for accidentally serving a band-aid in a pizza is one of the latest food outlets to be named on the Government’s Name and Shame list for food safety infringements, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald has reported.The Dominos Pizza outlet on Carter Rd in Menai joins 316 other businesses on the website, which came into operation five months ago. “There have been a total of 502 fines for those 317 businesses listed since the website started in July,”... ...Read more »
All pork products from Ireland have been recalled after toxic substances were found in pig carcasses. The crisis has been caused by a contaminated ingredient added to pork feed which was provided to ten farms in Ireland. The farms affected provide about ten per cent of the total pork produced in the country. European supermarkets were required to clear their shelves of all Irish produced pork, ham, bacon and sausages on the weekend in response to the issue. The Government and food authorities have... ...Read more »