Push for mandatory food and safety ratings in NSW
by Leon Gettler
Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour is pushing for food safety ratings in restaurant windows to be made compulsory in NSW.
That would be a big change for the system now where Scores on Doors, launched by NSW Food Authority in 2010, is totally voluntary.
Under the Scores on Doors system, eateries are rated out of five based on food audits. The scores are then posted up on the doors.
Asfour feels that isn’t good enough, it has to be made mandatory.
His concerns follow revelations last week that the Canterbury-Bankstown region is among the worst regions for food safety breaches in 2015. It’s so bad that it’s second only to City of Sydney.
The Food Authority has issued over 100 fines over the last year.
“We have been pushing the NSW Food Authority to make this program compulsory, which would certainly give diners confidence in knowing the restaurant they are about to enter has a high star rating, as well as reward our food operators for complying to food safety and hygiene standards,” Asfour told the Daily Telegraph.
Only 53 of the 152 councils in NSW have signed up for the Scores on Doors program and Bankstown and Liverpool are the only members in south-west Sydney.
23rd February 2016
