Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Food safety under the microscope

The role of Local Government in ensuring public health standards has been brought to national attention with recent outbreaks of salmonella poisoning and other diseases. It has been suggested that some of the blame in recent Victorian cases could be attributed to changes to the 1994 Food Act to being less regulatory and based more on self regulation.

One of the major outbreaks occurred in an area where the Council had in place a regulation compelling food outlets to have 50% of staff trained in food handling and preparation techniques. Under the revised act, Council was no long able to insist on attendance.

Adele Gliddon, National President of the Australian Institute of Environmental Health, points out that similar problems occurred in Britain following changes in regulatory authority there, however other reasons have been put forward for the Melbourne outbreaks. These include that food handlers failed to adjust their practices to accommodate Melbourne's unusually long and hot summer.

At the same time, improvements in the notification process have meant many more food poisoning cases coming to light than would have in the past. In the British case, the Acheson Report, commissioned to investigate outbreaks of disease noted there was a shortfall of 800 Environmental Health Officers nationwide.

In Victoria, amalgamations and requirements for Compulsory Competitive Tendering has resulted in a reduction in the number of Environmental Health Officers with core work sometimes taking a back seat to the requirements of administrative changes.

In NSW and Tasmania, Local Government monitoring of food premises remains more regulatory in nature, with Councils having the ability to close premises which do not conform to basic hygiene standards.

In Victoria, this power rests with the State Department of Human Services. In Tasmania in particular, Local Government is heavily involved in the area of training. While there is no compulsion for proprietors or their employees to attend courses they are encouraged to do so. Incentive schemes, in terms of lower costs accruing to businesses conforming to high standards with fewer inspections required, occur in both States.

A new Australasian standard is currently being developed by the Australian and New Zealand Food Authority which includes a representative from the Australian Local Government Association. ANZFA has received $9.5 million in the Federal Budget to undertake this work. It is hoped this will redress existing problems and create uniformity throughout the country.

Currently still in draft form, the new code is expected to include requirements that food premises prepare food safety plans and undertake formal training in food handling and preparation. It remains to be seen exactly what will be the role of Local Government in regard to the preparation and authorisation of food plans, the implementation and curriculum of food training courses and auditing and policing of food premises.

Funding for additional workloads and the liability implications of these changes are likely to be an area of contention across the three spheres of Government.

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