Mandatory food safety training for NSW businesses

http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au

The NSW Government has announced plans to introduce mandatory food safety training requirements for the foodservice industry next year.

Announcing the plans today the Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald said the rules would help safeguard NSW consumers from foodborne illnesses.

The move follows long time calls by the NSW arm of the industry body the Restaurant & Catering Association for mandatory food safety training for foodservice operators.

Mr Macdonald said the aim was to have mandatory training requirements in place by 2010 to ensure each hospitality business in NSW has a designated food safety supervisor responsible for implementing safe food handling on the premises.

“This will involve individuals being trained by registered training organisations on how to properly store, prepare and handle food.”

Mr Macdonald said the new requirements would benefit both consumers and the State’s food industry members. “About 36 per cent of foodborne illness outbreaks in NSW are the result of poor food handling in those restaurants and takeaways that don’t put food safety high on their agenda," he said. “These outbreaks cost the state $150m a year in terms of lost productivity and place a significant burden on the health service.

The initiatives have been developed in collaboration with a working group consisting of Australian Hotels Association, Clubs NSW and Restaurants and Caterers NSW, with all three organisations providing support.

Restaurant and Catering NSW/ACT chief executive officer, Robert Goldman, said the initiative represents an “important step forward for food service providers”.

“Restaurant and Catering believes this will be a vital initiative in making sure that safe food handling remains part of a food premise’s daily routine,” he said.

“Basic food safety is not difficult, but getting it wrong can have devastating consequences, destroy reputations and put customer health at risk.”

Mr Macdonald said the new requirements will be in place by early 2010.