SA Health protects South Australia’s foulest food outlets
Want to know the worst places for food violations that put your health at risk? Don’t go to South Australia.
SA Health has a policy that no-one understands. Not that it bothers to explain.
It keeps the identities of the worst food violators in the state top secret. The bottom line is that it refuses to tell taxpayers where it’s not safe to eat.
Questioned by the Adelaide Advertiser, SA Health refused to even say why the public doesn’t have a right to know. Go figure.
As the Adelaide Advertiser said in its editorial, the government department charged with upholding and maintaining food standards in SA is treating the public like mushrooms.
Fortunately, the newspaper has done what SA Health won’t do: it’s exposed the state’s foulest food outlets by obtaining documents through Freedom of Information.
And some of the cases are enough to make anyone sick.
Consider these cases:
- dead insect in food outlets
- cockroaches in a food storage area
- breakable light bulbs above trays of food
- no hand-washing by kitchen staff
- six day old schnitzels disposed of during an inspection
- a food outlet fertilising gardens with human waste
- mouse plagues
- bung fritz two months out of date
In New South Wales, the state government has a policy of naming and shaming bad food outlets. It’s been such a hit that Oomph Technologies launched an app warning customers of the worst offenders near their location, based on information from the government’s website.
Oomph chief executive Keith Ahern said there was no reason why the SA government couldn’t adopt the system used in New South Wales.
“I can see why there would be one or two strikes before they are named, but there is no reason after enough warning that the customer can’t know which food outlets are breaking the rules,’’ Ahern told the Adelaide Advertiser.
“There was so much positive feedback, and the only negative comments were funny because the Government took the names down after 18 months were would be criticised when they came off the app.
“Absolutely do it with no reservations whatsoever, it informed people and it cleaned up the industry and food quality.’’
by Leon Gettler, August 11th 2016
